Partial to your abracadabra
by yesimadramaqueen
Summary: First was karaoke, next was an amusement park, what other dates would Rose and the Doctor find themselves going on? These are the chronicles of their dates together, starting with the very first official one. 10/Rose. Fluff warning. Completed! There WILL be a sequel...
1. Chapter 1

_**First Date: Karaoke **_

"Why are we stopping in here?" Rose asked as the Doctor dragged her by the hand into a dirty pub.

It was the 22nd century, and pubs in London hadn't changed by much. He told her that one hundred years into the future was a bit dull, and he proved himself wrong when the TARDIS dropped them into the middle of an alien cult meeting. They barely escaped with their lives, as that's how it always went. The Doctor insisted on going out instead of returning home for some well-deserved rest, but he wouldn't say why.

Inside, he pulled her towards a high-top table. "We are here to have some fun!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her by the waist and sat her down on the tall chair. "And you aren't going to argue."

"How are we going to pay? I know that you don't think of things like that, but—"

"Ah, you'd be wrong!" he smiled. From his coat pocket, he produced a large wad of modern money. "Sonic screwdriver. Works great on automatic tellers."

She smirked, leaning into his side. "You stole that."

"No, _stole_ is such an ugly word. I just…um…took it out on loan and don't intend to pay it back. Now, stop spoiling the fun we're supposed to be having, all right? You're just a big fun-sucking funsucker of all that's fun and holy! Yes. A _funsucker_."

Rose held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Sorry for sucking," she initially stopped, resuming speech when a few blokes nearby gave her a creepy smile. "The fun. Sucking the fun."

He held up his arm to the tender. "Two banana daiquiris over here! Next round is your choice, Rose. But, you have to start with something banana. Do you know why?"

"Let's think…" she hummed, balancing on her elbows and running her tongue across her smile. "Bananas are good, and you should always have one at a party."

"Brilliant! If that's the one thing you learn from our travels, I will be more than content!"

The drinks arrived and the Doctor grabbed his, proposing a toast. "Here's to you."

"To me?" she chuckled. "What did I do to deserve a toast?"

"Stop sucking the fun with your questions and just _relax_. This one's for you, Rose Tyler."

She blushed as they toasted. Shortly after, he left to use the lavatories. He never did that, but she wasn't asking anymore questions. If the men over at the bar heard the word _sucking_ one more time, they'd certainly pop over for a friendly visit. Even so, Rose was very suspicious of the entire evening. The Doctor never wanted to go out like this. He insisted that the TARDIS made the best drinks in the universe, so there was no need to go out and pay for one.

When he came back, he was bubbling with excitement. He went on and on about the intriguing world of the modern loo, speaking quickly in large words. The look on his face was too sweet. Rose got lost in his quirky grin, letting go of all apprehensions about their evening together. That is, until the real reason for the pub emerged.

"Welcome to karaoke night!" the emcee announced over the microphone. "Go on over and sign up. We have the best music from the twentieth, twenty first, and twenty second centuries! Pick your poison and sing your heart out! Free drink if you do!"

The Doctor sipped his daiquiri and raised both of his eyebrows. "Well, how about that? Karaoke!"

Rose stared at him and he winked. She put a hand on her forehead. "You didn't."

"Didn't what?" he asked innocently.

"When you said that you went to the loo…" she began. But, she was interrupted.

"First up is John Smith!"

The Doctor beamed and took a last gulp, wandering up to the microphone. He tapped it to make sure it was working and then cleared his throat. "Hello. I'm going to be singing a song by a man you all remember. White suits. Scarves. King of rock 'n roll. No? Anybody? Well, the answer I was looking for is Elvis Presley. Better luck next time. Allons-y!"

Music started to play and Rose began laughing hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. The Doctor was up there, dancing like Elvis and holding a microphone close to his mouth.

"You can shake an apple off an apple tree. Shake-a, shake- sugar, but you'll never shake me. Uh-uh-uh. No-sir-ee, uh, uh," the Doctor couldn't sing very well, but no one could fault his enthusiasm. "I'm gonna stick like glue, stick because I'm…" he paused with the music, hitting the beats with his entire body. "Stuck on you!" he winked at Rose and kept moving around the stage like a madman. Near the end of the song, he motioned to her to get closer. She shook her head no and he kept motioning. He had to cover the microphone and shout, "Rose, get yourself up here!"

A man next to the table grabbed her and helped her down, shoving her towards the platform. She reluctantly went up there, joining the Doctor in the spotlight near the foot of the stage. He gave her his tie, draping it about her neck. He finished the song while looking directly at her. "Stuck on you!"

There were cheers and he hopped down next to Rose, grinning in an adorable and smug sort of way. She started giggling and he tied the tie around her neck like a scarf. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I'd escort you back to our table, but there's a bit of problem."

"What's that?"

The emcee took the stage. "Next is Rose Tyler!"

She glared at him. "I could so kill you sometimes."

"Yeah, I know. Too bad. The show must go on!" he quickly tossed her over his shoulder and dropped her in front of the microphone. He cupped his mouth his hands, shouting over the cheers. "You're singing Ian Dury! The one you're always humming when you're in the shower!"

A man next to the Doctor gave him an elbow nudge. _That didn't come out right, _he thought. Rose looked terrified in the bright lights, but as soon as the song started she relaxed. In fact, she relaxed too much. She started dancing, but not the same kind of dance that the Doctor had done. No, this dance involved the hips and looked a lot like some dreadful music videos he'd seen while visiting 1995. Even so, Rose could pull it off. He swallowed the knot in his throat and ignored the loud pounding of both hearts.

"Partial to your abracadabra. Enraptured by the joy of it all, so stop me where you start. The cockles of his heart. The panties sends it right up the wall."

She could sing. Rose had the most incredible voice. Sure, he had heard it once or twice before, but it was the kind of singing a person does while cooking stew or explaining a melody to someone who has never heard it. This was different. This was her, belting out her entire soul, and all while dancing like a pop star. He was completely taken, and she appeared to be having a good time. His hearts were in time with her music. It was all he could to do to stay back and not leap onto the stage, pulling her into a dance and maybe even a kiss.

"Partial to your abracadabra," she finished. The room exploded with cheers, mostly from the men, and the Doctor held up his hand. She took it and helped her down from the stage. "That was…incredible."

He placed his lips near her ear. "Still want to kill me?"

She shook her head no. "Once you get past the lights and fifty or so people who can hear you, it's not so bad. I think I'll sing another."

"What?" he stammered.

"I noticed the song book over there. Think I'll look through it. Better add my name to the list before it gets too full," she gave him a smile and disappeared.

Before he knew it, Rose was on her third song. Her dancing had drawn in every bloke in the joint, and they all surrounded the stage for a closer view. The Doctor sat at their table, alone, with a drink. He never got jealous. No, jealousy was overrated and completely pointless. Besides, what could a clever Time Lord like himself be jealous about? He was the most important, and brilliant, man in the entire universe. Still, he didn't much care for the way those men were fawning all over her.

"Being protective is all," he sniffed to himself. "In case anyone gets the wrong idea about her."

She took off her jacket, as the lights were uncomfortably warm, and threw it into the crowd. Her arm was pretty decent, so it landed in the hands of a man not too far from the Doctor's table. The man cheered as if it were the bride's bouquet, so the Doctor got up and went over to him. He held out his hand. The man clung tighter.

"That's hers and she'll want it back," the Doctor shouted through the loud music. "And if you don't give it to me, I'll have to take it. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Reluctantly, the man handed it over. "The pretty ones always have a nasty boyfriend. Here. Take it, you thick tosser."

"No, I'm not her…" the Doctor began, but the man had already stormed off. He smiled to himself at the thought and pushed his way to the front of the stage. She spotted him and waved, grinning widely. "Wrap it up!" he shouted. She couldn't hear him.

Actually, she thought that he motioned to join her on the stage. She thought that it could be fun, plus he loved the Housemartians. Her hand reached out and grabbed his, and suddenly he felt her tugging at him to come up. A few nearby lads pushed him onwards and she had put the microphone in its stand, pointing at it to sing with her. He sighed, defeated, and began to sing.

"Every woman every man. Join the caravan of love. Stand up, stand up! Everybody take a stand.  
Join the caravan of love…"

By the end of the song, they were both smiling and getting funky with it. He laughed when the crowd cheered, and he couldn't resist pulling Rose into his arms. They leapt off the stage together, met by pats on the back and handshakes.

"We're celebrities!" the Doctor chuckled, leading Rose back to their table by the arm.

"Free drinks on me!" the bartender shouted at them.

They exchanged smiles and had a round. Rose's choice, of course. The Doctor gave her coat back and she stared at him strangely. "I threw that at some strange man in the back. Didn't think I'd see it again."

"Well, I got it back."

A few fans of Rose appeared at the table, hitting on her right in front of the Doctor. "We're going on a bender. You want to come? Maybe do some more of that dancing for us later?"

"Thanks for the offer mate, but I don't think so…" Rose responded politely.

"C'mon, love. You know you want to," another man winked.

The Doctor found himself getting protective again. No, not jealous. _Protective_. Yeah. That's the word. She was his best mate and no man, woman, child, alien, monster, or robot was going to harm her in any way. Not on his watch. These men were a threat, he had decided. Might try to take her away or take advantage. So, he did what any protective friend would do.

"Sorry. She's with me."

Rose was as surprised as they were. His arm was across the back of her chair and he was gazing at her intently. She could only nod and say, "That's right."

The men sulked off, and the Doctor felt triumphant for protecting his Rose. "Another round then? Still your choice."

That was the last round they had before walking towards the TARDIS. She hadn't put her jacket back on yet, and she could feel shivers crawling up her spine in the cold wind. Instead of telling her to put on her jacket, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her and hugged her to his side. She grinned and whispered, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

When they got inside, she gave him his coat and silently went towards her room. She stopped when she saw that she still had the tie around her neck. "Oh, I have your tie—"

"Keep it. Or, give it back whenever you feel like it. I have plenty of ties."

A question popped into her mind as she played with the soft fabric in her fingers. "Why'd you sing that Elvis song?"

"Because you can't get any more classic than the King himself. That's a fact. His record sales, even now in this century—"

"No. Not that. The song. 'Stuck on you.' How'd you pick it?"

"It's a good song," he shrugged. He was getting nervous, so he changed the subject. "Where should we go next?"

"You gave me your tie," she added. "Not once, but twice. At the stage and right now."

"I was thinking that we could go to this nice planet a few galaxies over. They have great shellfish and I've been in the mood for some lately. They add this great seasoning—"

"And you knew what song to pick for me. You've been listening to me, even in the shower—"

"Lovely stuff. Just lights up the taste buds like a power plant sparks an entire city. So many hints of this and that. Savory, sweet, smoky, spicy, sour…"

"You got on stage with me near the end. And, you told those men you were with me," she added, continuing to fidget with his tie. "Not only that, you got my jacket back and gave me your coat. Doctor?"

He stopped moving around the console for a moment. "Rose?"

"You do understand what this was, don't you?"

"What?"

"Tonight."

"It was karaoke. Always a good time."

She frowned and glared at him. "Men. Even if they're Time Lords they're not very clever."

"Wait a minute! I am very clever, thank you."

"Not clever enough to be honest with me. Tonight wasn't just fun. It was a date. A proper one."

"What? No," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Karaoke. Singing. Daiquiris. Lots and lots of fun. By the way, you have a great voice. And I speak for all the men, even if we aren't clever, when I say really, really, _really_ great dancing. You were beautiful up there. Still are."

She blushed, but smirked at the ploy. "Don't think you can distract me with a compliment."

"I wasn't _distracting_. I didn't mention before how fantastic you were and thought now to be the right time. That's all."

He swallowed anxiously and she stared at him. "We went on a _real_ date."

"No, it wasn't—"

"It so was. You fancy me."

"Stop that."

She slowly started to dance towards him, saying in a singsong voice. "You took me on a date."

He backed into a piece of TARDIS coral, blathering. "I thought you'd have a good time, well we'd have a good time, so I wanted us to go and have a good time together. It's a simple as that. Really it is. I didn't mean to imply anything more than…"

Rose had taken off his tie and put it around his neck. She tied it for him, pulling him down to her level. He could feel her breath. "I'm stuck on you," she murmured, going in for a kiss. He shut his eyes in anticipation. Suddenly, she let him go and he stumbled backwards. Her laughter rang throughout the TARDIS. "You were going to kiss me back! You had your eyes shut and everything. Let me know when you want to go on our second date. Maybe some more karaoke?"

With that, she vanished and he remained unmoving as his pulse raged. He could hear her singing in the hallway, and he couldn't help thinking she had the voice of an angel. While remembering her performance, he got weak in the knees. He loved seeing her that happy. That was his goal for the evening: make Rose happy. It's all he ever wanted to do.

Blimey. It _was_ a proper date. And, as far as first dates go, it had to be the most perfect one in the universe. All of the universes combined.

_A/N: Songs belong to Elvis, Ian Dury, and the Housemartians just like the characters belong to BBC. Inspired by the lovely and talented Billie Piper. _


	2. Chapter 2

_**Second date: Amusement parks**_

He wouldn't admit that their night of karaoke was their first proper date. In fact, he avoided the subject. Rose did a very good job of bringing it up regardless. He couldn't hum or do anything that resembled a dance move without her commenting or smiling suggestively. So, when he got the idea to take her to Universe Park for their second date—not that he was considering it a date, of course—he kept it a secret.

"Where are we going today?" she asked excitedly, floating around the console with the grace of an angel. "New worlds filled with danger?"

"Oh yes. Very, very dangerous…" he nodded seriously. "You should pack a bag. Extra outfits, blankets, maybe some snacks."

She frowned. "Are we camping or something?"

"No. Better hurry. We'll be there any moment."

"Aren't you packing anything?" she pointed out as she moved towards her room. He motioned to a small satchel on the floor and she chuckled. "Everything you need is in that?"

"I'm a man. We don't pack like it's the end of the world."

"Oi, watch it…" she grinned, revealing a tiny strip of her tongue. His hearts stopped for a second and she strolled to her room.

They arrived and he happily opened the doors with a grand gesture. "Rose Tyler, this is Universe Park. Best amusement park in existence!"

"You're joking," she muttered with wonder in her eyes. "We're taking the day off? No fights to the death?"

"Well, that depends. Someone tries to cut in front of us while we're in a queue, and we might have to take it outside. C'mon, then. We've got express passes and meal vouchers, not to mention a free stay in the grand hotel. I hear there's a piano bar."

Rose grinned and took his hand. "I don't know how you do it, Doctor."

"Maybe I'm just that good. Or, maybe someone owed me one. Anyway, allons-y! The hover coaster is loads of fun."

They ran hand in hand through the crowd of aliens, robots, cyborgs, and the occasional human. After stopping to pick up their passes and vouchers, they went to the coaster and instantly got to the front of the queue. Rose sat in the hover car beside him, gripping the bar nervously. "What exactly is this ride? Is it like the rollercoasters on Earth?"

"Sort of."

"How's it different?"

"It's not controlled by a worker. It is on a track, but we drive…" he grabbed the wheel and hit a few buttons. "We'll be going three times as fast as the fastest rollercoaster on Earth. But that's not the best part! It goes upside-down twenty-seven times. Twenty-seven!"

She looked pale. "And you'll be driving?"

"Oh, you bet I will, Rose!"

He checked her restraints and kept his eyes on the traffic signals. She gripped his arm. "I hope you drive a hover car better than the TARDIS."

"Hey!" he protested. The light told him to go and he gave it gas. She screamed and he laughed. "Twenty-seven times, Rose! Upside-down twenty-seven times!"

After the initial fear, it was a great time. She was dizzy by the end of it, and the Doctor had to help her out of the car. She fell against his side and watched the world spin. He supported her by holding her waist snuggly. The closeness was getting to him in the best possible way. She pointed to a water ride. "What's that one?"

"That's Gravity Falls. You're suspended in a tunnel with gravity fields and then you drop one hundred meters into the water below. A boat picks you up and takes you to shore. It's great if you want to get wet."

She smiled. "I did bring blankets and clothes."

"See? It's all about the planning."

They went into the ride together, bombarded with water jets and the long fall into the pond below. The Doctor swam to the boat first and pulled himself up, offering Rose his hand. She took it and joined him in the boat, shivering and nuzzling into his side.

"This is fantastic," she laughed. "Absolutely fantastic."

He loved seeing her so happy. His fingers ran up her arm in an attempt to warm her up. It didn't really work, but she appreciated his effort. They changed into their extra outfits and he draped the blanket around her shoulders, hugging her to his side.

They went to get some lunch, and to their surprise they met an Ood worker. It held its translator out. "Would you like some refreshment?"

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, smirking at the memories. They got their food and sat in the warm sun, laughing and talking about nothing in particular. Once they had finished, Rose pulled the Doctor towards a large ride that involved dangerous cables and hefty drops. When they got there and pushed to the front, the security guard shook his head. "No fast passes for this ride."

"That's all right, I suppose. How long is the wait?" Rose asked, idly swinging her hand with the Doctor's.

"Three hours."

Rose's face fell. "That's a long time. We don't have to ride this one."

The Doctor wasn't about to let this spoil their day. He held up his psychic paper. "As you can see, we aren't the commoners you think we are. How long is that wait now?"

"Sorry, sir. My apologies. Right this way."

"That's what I thought," he grinned victoriously, ushering Rose to go first. She was bubbling with enthusiasm.

"You and your psychic paper!" she whispered into his ear. "Who'd he think we were?"

He glanced at it, blushing significantly. "Oh, well, you know. Just…important people."

"Doctor," she teased. "Why won't you tell me?"

With as fast a voice as possible, he just tried to get it over with. "He thought that I was the president of a nearby moon, and you were…my wife."

She didn't laugh. Instead, she held his arm as they got into their seats and kissed his cheek. He felt shivers go down his spine and she leaned into his shoulder. "We better play the part, then. Don't want to get caught as imposters."

"No, wouldn't want that…" he agreed with a daft grin.

The ride was exhilarating and gave Rose more energy than she had before. She pulled the Doctor all over the park to go on rides, get snacks, or look in the shops. There was an interesting object that she wanted to get for her mother, but she didn't have any of their currency. The Doctor hadn't gotten vouchers for the shops, and he also didn't carry money. So, he used his psychic paper again and the shop owner handed Rose a basket, telling her to fill it with as much as she would like. They left with three bags.

"How'd you do that?" she giggled as the Doctor took the bags from her to carry.

"Psychic paper."

"Still Mister and Madam President?"

He blushed again and cleared his throat. "Apparently not."

"Who were we this time?"

"Oh, you know. The owner of a famous franchise and…his wife."

She smirked. "That's becoming a theme. Can we ride that wheel thing again?"

"The Wheel of Fortunes? I suppose so."

Her arm snaked around his waist and they wandered back to the large wheel. It was not unlike the London Eye, as the only differences were that the pods were floating by magnetic fields and supposedly told the future. Last time, it said that Rose would find a tenner in her pocket and the Doctor would get a haircut. So, it was a sham. But, the views were still spectacular.

She sat directly next to the Doctor, hip to hip, and set her head on his shoulder. He debated in his mind whether he should put his arm around her or not. His arm began the motion, but he didn't go through with it. _Mighty Time Lord_, he thought bitterly, _and here I am acting like a nervous teenager_. Rose grabbed his arm and put it across her shoulders for him, snuggling into his chest. She was almost asleep. It had been a long day, and they still had more to see.

"Rose," he said quietly. She mumbled in response. "I think we need to take a break."

"Uh-hum."

He led her back to the hotel attached to the park and slid the desk clerk the information he was given. Then, he flashed his psychic paper. "And we'll be needing room service as soon as possible. Whatever's on the menu for human consumption."

"Of course, sir," the desk clerk nodded. "Free of charge. I've also upgraded your room. I hope that you and your wife have a lovely stay."

"Brilliant," he grinned, taking Rose's hand without fully hearing what he said.

Once they got to the room, Rose giggled and pointed to their upgraded room. "One bed! And it says 'King and Queen Suite' on the door. Let me guess. We're the King and Queen of some little country on some little planet, yeah?"

He held out his psychic paper. Rose was right. Why was it doing this to him?

"I'll be in the shower," she informed him, pausing to add, "dearest husband."

A flush climbed up the back of his neck and he sat down on the bed heavily. He heard Rose's voice singing from the shower, and he grinned. "Partial to your abracadabra," he said with a laugh. "That'd be about right."

The plan was to rest for an hour and go back to the park, but when Rose emerged she had on the nightclothes she just found in the shops. He sputtered and pointed out the window. "There's still so much we haven't done and the pass expires. We can't go back tomorrow. Not to mention the piano bar downstairs. It's like karaoke all over again. Wouldn't you like to do that?"

She laughed at his awkwardness. "Yeah, it'd be fun. But I think it'd be better to eat the free room service and relax in the room."

"But, the park…passes expire…piano bars…you can't tell me that's not tempting."

"Well," she sighed, pretending to consider. "It is tempting, but this is way too much fun. You should see your face. Right now. Eyes bulging out. Cheeks bright red. Sweat on your brow. You're about to go through the roof."

"I am not," he scoffed, tugging at his collar. "It's just warm in here."

She gave him an incredulous look. "It's freezing in here."

"I'm only trying to be sure that you don't miss out. There's a great ride we haven't been on. It has fire and scary robots. Really bone chilling stuff."

"I'm sure it is," she chuckled. "And the park is great. I loved it. But I'd rather spend time relaxing with you. I know that's not a concept you understand. _Relaxing_. You're hyper active, you know that? Always running about on an hour of sleep. Talking ninety miles an hour. Looking for situations to get us into. For one night, you should slow it down. No rides. No running around. No piano karaoke, as fun as that sounds. Just you, me, and free food."

He smiled. "When you put it like that, I'd love to."

Their food arrived a short time later and they sprawled out on their stomachs, eating in bed. He had shed everything except his button-up shirt and trousers, and she wrapped herself in one of the fluffy robes. "Try that goop," he told her, reaching across her arms to retrieve a spoonful. "It's good. Full of healthy things."

She shook her head. "I am not trying anything that's blue. That's unnatural. Blue food. Even on Earth, blueberries aren't blue. They're more of a purple."

He held the spoon to her mouth and she tried to escape. Eventually, it ended up on her lips and jaw instead of in her mouth. She glared at the Doctor, who was trying not to laugh. He put on a serious expression. "Your fault. You were supposed to open your mouth and try it like a normal person."

"Normal? You're the one shoving food in my face. It's all over me."

"Not that bad," he smirked. "Well, maybe that bad."

Gingerly, he took her chin and turned her face from side to side. She attempted to wipe it off, but missed a good portion. "Did I get it?"

"Sorry, but no. It's over there…" he motioned on his own face. She went to the wrong side. "No, other side. No, higher. No, too high. Blimey, just give me that."

He took the napkin and carefully wiped it away, suddenly very aware of their proximity. She grinned and his stomach flopped. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Yeah. My fault for thinking you'd actually _try_ it. You are so stubborn."

"Not that," she laughed. "All this. It was a _great_ second date."

"Second date?" he repeated. "What makes you think this was a date, let alone a second one?"

"Karaoke was a date. No arguing. As for today, I'm not the one telling every member of staff that we're a married couple."

"That's the psychic paper!"

"Which you control," she pointed out, smiling widely. "Besides, you obviously thought all this through. That says _date_ to me."

He ate another lump of blue goop, sulking. She waited patiently for him to finish. "If—and I do mean _if_—you're right, hypothetically speaking…"

Her patience had run out. She kissed him on the lips to shut him up, and he kissed her right back. When they pulled apart, they smiled at one another and she nuzzled into his neck. "You'll have to do a lot to top today," she warned him. "As far as second dates go, this one is perfect. Any ideas for date three?"

"I don't share my secrets, Rose. I am a man of mystery."

"Let's see what the psychic paper has to say…" she winked, rolling out of bed and to his coat pocket. She grabbed it right before he grabbed her, tugging her by the waist back into bed. She opened it and grinned. "Anywhere and anytime you want to go."

He hugged her to his chest, humming in agreement. "Next one is your choice."

She had a million ideas, but for now she was happy being with her Doctor. In the morning, they'd figure the rest out. One thing was for certain: they had one bed and two people, and neither one minded at all.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Third date: Classic cars**_

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Rose asked cautiously.

"No, not at all. It feels brilliant, actually. You have great hands," the Doctor hummed pleasantly.

"You think so?"

"Mhm…right there. That's the spot. Harder. Blimey, that's nice."

Rose continued to massage his sore shoulders as they sat together in the library on the TARDIS. They were both sitting the wrong way on the couch. The Doctor was stretched out and leaning against Rose, and she had her legs wrapped around his waist as her hands kept massaging.

"If you hadn't made us hide in that tree for so long, you wouldn't have strained your muscles…" she chided as he sighed in response. "How long were we up there?"

"I don't know. I'm still pulling leaves out of my hair," he mumbled as he yanked another leaflet. He was idly flipping through a fashion magazine Rose brought home from London, wearing his glasses on the tip of his nose. "I can't believe that some people call this _fashion_. It's ghastly if you ask me. But, what do I know?"

"Well…" she teased. He tossed the magazine in a huff and she giggled. "You feeling better yet?"

"Uh-huh," he smiled as he shut his eyes. "Did you pull anything while we were up there?"

She grinned at the opportunity. "Oh yeah. My neck is just…terrible. Awful."

"Why didn't you say so? Switch," he instructed as he pulled her into his lap, working on her neck which felt suspiciously loose. She grabbed a book from the shelf, opening the cover curiously. "The murderer is the limo driver," he informed her. She hit him. "What was that for?"

"Ruining the ending," she smirked with her tongue. "I was thinking…"

"Oh here it comes…" he groaned mockingly.

"Shut up. That was an intense day with the running and the fighting and the hiding…"

"Is this going somewhere?"

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Anyway, why don't we do something fun next? Say, a third date?"

His fingers rubbed tiny circles into her neck. "So, you've thought of somewhere to go?"

"That's all I've been thinking about, you big idiot. I'm girl. I'd really like to go to America in the 1960s. I'm thinking a big city like New York or Las Vegas."

He grinned. "Then that is what you will get, Rose Tyler."

"_After_ the neck rub. You know, because I pulled something."

His eyebrow quirked and he grinned. "Somebody's faking an injury like a football player…" he knew that she was blushing, so he chuckled. "Not that I mind at all…"

_After_ her neck rub, he set the coordinates and she went through her wardrobe to find something more fitting. She emerged in something very Audrey Hepburn and the Doctor gaped. "That's…that's perfect. Really perfect. Unbelievably perfect. You look just…perfect."

"Thank you, darling," she responded, putting on an old Hollywood accent. "Shall we?"

He held out his arm and she took it, very excited about their trip to the big city. When they opened the door and stepped outside, Rose looked around and the Doctor ran a nervous hand through his hair. "This isn't where we were supposed to go," the Doctor assured her. "The TARDIS must have thrown a fit. We can get back in and try again."

They were in America in the 1960s, but it was not a big city. In fact, they had landed in the middle of a small mountain town. She tried to find a sign that said where they were, but there were no signs or buildings to speak of. "Do you know where we are exactly?" she asked slowly.

He bleeped the air with his sonic screwdriver, reading the results. "I'd say we're in a state called West Virginia which is the absolute _last_ place we should be. There's inbreeding here and…banjoes."

She shuddered at the thought and went to get back in the TARDIS, pausing when she saw a white car nearby. "Is that the first model year of an Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider?"

"A what?"

"Classic car. Convertible. And it's white. I love white cars. Actually, I love classic white cars. It's a 1966. That's the first year it was made!" she exclaimed as she went in for a closer look.

He gawked at her in amazement. "I didn't know you knew about cars."

"Are you joking? Mickey was a mechanic and Mum dated a car salesman when I was a kid. I love this car. I've always wanted to be in one."

The Doctor looked around again. "What is it doing in the middle of West Virginia? That's an expensive vehicle and this state is one of the poorest in the country."

Rose held up the keys, jingling them. "Maybe the TARDIS didn't take us to the wrong place. What do you say, Doctor? Quick spin? We'll bring it right back."

He grinned and took the keys from her. "This date _is_ whatever you want to do…"

She hopped inside and he started the engine, peeling onto a back road. He flipped on the radio while she searched for a map. They found a British Invasion channel and started to sing along to the Beatles. Rose found a street name and searched the map. "You're not going to believe where we are."

"Where?"

"A place called Big Otter."

They howled with laughter, driving rapidly on the narrow country roads. The car stopped at a dead end and they had to pick whether to go right or left. "What does the map say?" the Doctor asked. "Right or left?"

"Well, if we go right we'll see mountains and if we go left we'll see more mountains."

"Mountains it is," he grinned, deciding to go left. He cranked the radio when the Animals came on, tapping his hand on the wheel. "Girl I want to provide for you and do all the things you want me to. Oh, oh no, don't bring me down. I'm begin' you darlin'! Oh, oh no, don't bring me down!"

She couldn't stop laughing, especially when he started dancing in his seat. "Don't wreck this car. It's not even ours!" she warned.

"Woman anything I need your love and troubles are easy to rise above. Oh, oh no. Don't bring me down! Oh no, no, no. _Oh, oh no_! Don't bring me down! Don't bring me down, Rose Tyler!"

They continued on the roads for awhile, but Rose couldn't figure out where they were on the map. They had to turn around three times because of dead ends and accidentally taking a road that was someone's driveway. The Doctor reached across the car to retrieve the map and she fought him. "I'm the navigator and you're the driver!" she protested. "It's not my fault that these roads are completely mental."

"Let me see the map," he argued. "Men are better with directions."

"Oi! You are not! If you want the map, you'll have to let me drive…" she smirked wickedly and held the map well beyond his reach. "What's it going to be, Doctor?"

He reluctantly pulled over and switched sides, holding the map out in front of his face. He put on his glasses and examined it, confused by the strange markings. No wonder Rose had trouble with the it. It looked homemade. "If we turn 'round we can head towards the river," he offered. "And maybe civilization. I'm getting sick of the bloody mountains."

She laughed and adjusted the mirror. "Sounds good to me."

"Are you sure you want to drive?" he tried to be discreet. "You'll be driving on the wrong side of the road."

"It can't be that hard," she shrugged, revving the engine. They came to a shaky start and she was going slowly, swerving in and out of lanes. A passing lorry beeped the horn and shook his fist as it went around them. "I can't reach the pedals," Rose explained nervously. "Does the seat move?"

He took out his sonic screwdriver and it flew into place. "Now it does. Rose, just to remind you, don't wreck this car. It isn't even ours…"

"Oh, shut it!" she giggled, blushing.

He smiled at her elated expression, stretching out comfortably in the seat next to her. They traveled a few back roads and highways for over an hour. In that time, they sang with the radio, teased each other about stupid things, and talked about anything they could think of. Rose suddenly frowned and motioned to the dash. "We're almost out of petrol."

"Take the next road. We'll stop at a station."

They pulled into the very retro station and someone came to pump the petrol for them. The Doctor politely told him not to, since it was such an expensive car and he might damage it. Rose distracted the man by walking with him to the quick mart, pretending to ask for directions to the next town over. Meanwhile, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to fill the tank. He called Rose over and she hopped in the front.

"You might want to hurry. I think they've just figured out that we didn't pay," the Doctor muttered as the owner appeared with a shotgun. "Yeah, I'm fairly certain they know we didn't pay. Run! No, hold on. Drive!"

Rose floored it and the owner chased them, shooting out their tail lights. "Ya'll get the heck outta my town, ya hear?" the owner's voice called in the distance.

The Doctor looked over at Rose and they burst into chortles. Several hours later, they reached the river and Rose leapt out, running to the gorgeous bank. He followed her slowly, grinning at her face as she kicked off her shoes and stuck her toes in the water. His coat was their blanket, and they watched the sun go down on the valley. She cuddled up to his side, idly playing with his tie. The stars were thick above them, and she pointed towards the sky. "How many of those have we been to?"

"Oh, well…" he paused, thinking. "That one, that one, _that_ one, that one…that one over there…that one over here…" he smiled at her fondly. "Loads of them. Well, not really if you compare it to the actual number there are. It'd be impossible to go to every star. I'm sure there's still a few I haven't seen."

"But we can try," Rose hummed. "We _do_ have forever."

She kissed his jaw and slid her cold hand beneath the collar of his shirt. He tucked her head under his chin, enjoying the contact. "Sorry that we didn't go to the big city. Maybe next time."

"Please, the TARDIS knew what she was doing. This has been incredible."

"Has it?" he teased with an eyebrow waggle. "We've been shot at, almost ran off the road, and traveled for four hours straight. I've never seen so many mountains in my life, and I've been to a planet called _Mountain Range Five_."

"And it's been lovely," she grinned. "I think that we could go to a knitting party and it'd be the perfect date."

His face contorted in revulsion. "_Knitting party_? Why would that be the perfect date?"

"Because it's with you."

He felt his hearts surge with warm and he kissed her forehead, staying tangled together for another hour before he noticed something. "It took us four hours to get here. It's going to take four hours to get back. Maybe we should get going."

"I'll drive," she volunteered, leaping up excitedly.

"Rose…" he tried to think of a way to put it gently. "You about gave me a heart attack when you drove before."

"Well, you have two hearts so you'll live. Besides, men _are_ better with directions."

He huffed. She was too clever. "I want to drive and _I_ have the keys."

"Whoever gets there first can drive," she decided as she bolted for the car. He chased her, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around. They looked deeply into each other's eyes and he kissed her gently. She roughed things as he backed her into the bonnet, and he was far too enthralled to notice that her hand went to his pocket. He paused for oxygen and she grinned, wiggling out of his grasp and holding the keys triumphantly. "I have the keys, I'm here first, and oh…wait…this _is_ my choice for a date. I'm driving."

Reluctantly, he got inside of the car and opened the map. "You're lucky I go wherever you go."

She revved the engine playfully. "What was that? Couldn't hear you. You'll have to say that again."

"I go wherever you go!" he shouted over the engine.

They smiled and took off down the back roads, stopping again for petrol. This time, they escaped without a shotgun getting involved. They practiced their hick accents and laughed at the banjo music on the radio. Eventually, they got back to the TARDIS in one piece. They got out of the car and Rose looked at it with sad eyes. "Nice to meet you, car. I hope your owner treats you well, yeah?"

He frowned at how sad she was about leaving it behind, so he wandered into the TARDIS and went into the garage. She didn't know about it, but they had a few cars stashed away in case of emergencies. He opened the garage door, which was the side panel of the TARDIS, and wandered out to the white classic Rose was still saying goodbye to. She watched in confusion as he got inside and started it up. "Well, c'mon. Stop standing around and get in."

She did and he adjusted the seat, backing into the TARDIS. He closed the door and she looked around in awe. "What is this?"

"The TARDIS has a garage. I don't use it much, but I figured we _did_ break this car and the owner left it in a field with the keys. Says to me that maybe we should keep it."

Her smile lit up the room and she flew into his arms, kissing his face and neck excitedly. Their lips met as he picked her up, leaning against the door. When they broke apart, her eyes were shining with happiness. "I have the best boyfriend in the universe."

"Boyfriend?" he questioned with hints of a grin.

"Three dates now and I say there's going to be a fourth. Wouldn't you reckon?"

He nodded, allowing the grin to break through. "Oh yes."

"Next one is your choice," she smirked as she hugged his waist. "And you can do all the driving."

"Do I get to drive your car?" he inquired with a hand on the white convertible.

"Well, _I guess_ that I can share."

"I'm the one that decided to keep it," he defended.

She shook her head with a look that said _are you thick? _"I meant that I can share you with the car."

"No," he frowned. "Don't share me. I'm apparently your boyfriend now, so monogamy is very important. Even if the other woman is an Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, first model year."

Rose grinned and kissed him quickly, pulling him towards his room. "Better be careful what you wish for, Doctor. I can be _very _possessive. You're mine tonight."

"Hmm," he hummed as he followed her. "Well, I did say I go wherever you go…"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Fourth date: Equestrian**_

"Rose! What is taking you so long?" the Doctor whined outside of her bedroom door. "We'll miss check-in time!"

She opened the door a crack with an irritated expression. "You can't _rush_ a woman after declaring a date on short notice. We need preparation time. I have to pack, and you know how women pack. _And_ I'm not done getting dressed."

He smirked at the thought, moving his head to the side to see inside of her room. She shut the door in his face and he groaned, grabbing his single satchel and going to the console room. He sat on the seat, tapping his foot impatiently. Finally, he heard her walking towards him and he sprung up and skipped towards the door. "Allons-y, off we…" he stopped when he saw her outfit, grinning wildly. "You look lovely."

Rose spun around, showing off her cowgirl garb. Her hair was in two braids and she wore with a Western style top. Now, she had an excuse to wear her very expensive and very favorite cowboy boots they had picked up a few months back. She added a bandanna around her neck. "Giddy up."

They chuckled and he grabbed her unbelievably heavy pack, ushering her through the doors. She stepped onto a beautiful landscape of prairies and fields, gasping at the gorgeous ranch in front of her. The building was old and very large, completely with a wraparound porch and balcony. He joined her and they quickly made their way into the building. He flashed his psychic paper at the check-in desk, instantly allowing them access to a room for a few days.

"This is beautiful," Rose smiled when they entered their rustic room. She sat on their bed and he set the things down, flopping on the mattress beside her. "Where did you say we are?"

"We're in the year 4145 on a little planet called Ranchero Delta Seven during the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. This is the Equestrian Ranch and Resort and we are…" he paused, checking the psychic paper. "The Doctor and Mrs. Tyler of the Western Embassy."

She grinned and kissed him briefly. "You do know that I don't know how to ride a horse."

"You don't?"

"I grew up in London. There aren't exactly stables on the Powell Estate," she chuckled. "You're going to have to teach me."

"No time like the present!" he grabbed her hand and yanked her upright, running through the halls of the ranch and down the steps to the back porch. She laughed as they ran across the field to the large stable, which was filled with all kinds of horses. After catching their breath, they walked through the stalls to select their horses. He pointed at one. "That one's called a quarter horse. You'll ride that. Great for beginners. I want," he stopped and lit up as he ran to a black and brown speckled horse. "This one! Hello, you…" he patted its neck affectionately, searching for the name. "Horse sigma eight? That's hardly a name for a horse. I'll call you Aladdin."

"Aladdin?" Rose giggled elatedly.

"Well, he's an Arabian horse. Aladdin's an Arabic name. Great Disney film. And you're one to talk, Rose Tyler. You named your Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider_ Juliet_."

She pretended to take offense, but she couldn't do it seriously. He showed her how to groom the horses and mount the saddle, and she attempted to clean out the hooves. The quarter horse tried to kick her and she ran in terror, causing the Doctor to laugh hysterically. After he spoke to the horse quietly, the horse allowed Rose to finish. Apparently, the Doctor was quite the horse whisperer.

They went out into the field and the Doctor pointed at the saddle. "Right, this is _Western_ riding, not _English_ riding. We'll save that for another date. So, what you do is go to the left side…" he positioned her next to the quarter horse. "And you take the reins," he put them into her hand. "Put your left foot in the stirrup and you bounce up and over and on. Got that? Foot, stirrup, bounce, up, over, on."

"Foot, stirrup…"

"Bounce, up, over, on. Like this," he went to Aladdin and easily hopped onto the saddle. "Easy as can be! You try it."

She cautiously put a foot in the stirrup, but she wasn't as tall as the Doctor and the horse wasn't a fan of hers. In the bounce stage, she fell flat onto her back and the horse started to run away. "You all right?" he called worriedly. "Nothing broken?"

"No," she grumbled as she stood, wiping mud from her jeans. She watched as the Doctor took off after the other horse, returning moments later with it in tow. "I think the horse hates me."

"Don't be daft," he downplayed. "I'm sure it's just. Intimidated. You know. By you and. That sort of thing."

She raised an eyebrow. "Right. When it pitches me off and I break my neck, remember who wanted to go on a date with horses."

After a few more failed attempts, the Doctor simply dismounted and lifted her onto the beast. She held the reins tightly, clearly petrified. He got onto Aladdin and rode beside her, leaning across to kiss her cheek for good luck. "Now, just hang on and use your legs and the reins to turn."

He showed her how to walk the horse and she tried it, pleasantly surprised by the quarter horse. It listened to her and they slowly wandered around together. Everything was fine until the Doctor wanted to jog them instead. He explained it to her quickly and with big words, and his horse had already taken off. She kept moving the reins and her feet, but the quarter horse refused to go any faster. She really nailed it in the side, which pissed the horse off, and it began to lope instead. The Doctor was circling back for her when they flew by and she was hanging onto the horse's neck for dear life.

"Doctor!"

"Pull back on the reins!" he shouted, galloping after her. "Pull back on them and say _Whoa!_"

She pulled and pulled. "Whoa! Whoa! I said _whoa_ you bloody thing!"

He managed to get beside her, reaching across with his free hand and tugging harshly on the reins. The horse skidded to a stop and he stopped Aladdin, hopping down and running to Rose. The look on her face made him nervous that maybe a horse riding date wasn't a good idea, given that he forgot to ask if she could ride. She looked at him and burst into a large grin, reaching down to be pulled from the horse. He hugged her closely. "Sorry about that."

"It's never a dull moment with you," she sighed. "I think that I'll just ride with you and not beside you, yeah?"

He smiled. "Off we go, then."

They got onto Aladdin with Rose riding behind the Doctor, hugging his waist. He led the other horse back to the stables, and after that he showed her what a horse could really do. They galloped and leapt, trotted and jogged, and he could feel her smiling into his shoulder. Stopping by a stream so Aladdin could drink some water, she watched him stroking the horse's black mane tenderly.

"You really like horses, don't you?"

"Oh yes," he said elatedly. "Such gentle creatures. And so much fun to ride. Isn't that right, Aladdin?" he asked in the same voice he used for K-9.

She smiled and gripped his hand as they rode back to the stables. When they got there, the Doctor said a long goodnight to Aladdin and they went back to their room for some couple time. As they lay tangled together, Rose couldn't sleep. The Doctor was out for his short time of slumber, and she kept looking at his face in thought. She was plotting…

The next day, they rode all around the planet. She got to sit in front as he guided her, but it was hard to focus with his hands wandering her hips and his overactive tongue on her earlobe. They stopped in a field to watch the clouds and Rose insisted they get rid of the sexual tension or she wouldn't be attentive enough to get back to the ranch.

"Well, this is it…" he told Aladdin as they stood in the stable. He groomed the horse carefully as Rose observed from her place perched on the wooden divider. "Last time we'll see each other, Aladdin. They best be good to you or they'll have me to answer to. You're a good horse. A very good horse."

Rose felt unbelievably sad for her Time Lord boyfriend as he shut the door, waving to the speckled Arabian. She took his arm and he put on a smile. "This has been brilliant."

"It has," she agreed. "You have good tastes in dates."

"So you do," he winked, sending one last forlorn glance at the stables.

In the morning, they were packing and preparing to return home. He was unusually quiet, and she knew why. When he wasn't looking, she took the psychic paper from his coat pocket and gave him a long, involved kiss. He was momentarily speechless from the sudden and pleasant attack, allowing her to leave the room with a rushed, "I'll be right back."

She went to the front desk and flashed paper. "Mrs. Tyler of the Western Embassy. There's a horse, horse sigma eight, and I'd like to have him."

"We can't do that, ma'am," the clerk responded. "He's our property."

"I don't think that you understand. My husband is _Dr. Tyler _of the Western Embassy. We want that horse. What can I do to get it? There has to be something we can work out, you and me…off the books, maybe?"

The clerk pointed at her feet. "I really _love _your cowboy boots…"

When Rose came back into the room, the Doctor folded his arms. "Where have you been, Rose Tyler? You ran out with no explanation and…what happened to your favorite boots? You're barefoot."

There was a knock on their door and Rose answered it, seeing the clerk in her cowboy boots with a stack of paperwork. "That's all the documents. Sigma eight is officially yours, along with everything in his stable."

Rose thanked them and turned around with a wicked smile, noting the confused and joyful look on the Doctor's face. She tossed him the psychic paper. "You're not the only one who can get things, you know."

They rode back to the TARDIS on Aladdin, and the Doctor practically danced the horse through the TARDIS and into the garden. "I'll have to create a new room and maybe a field. That'd be nice. He'd like that. A nice, big old field with open spaces! And a spacious stable. Not that tiny stall. No, Aladdin gets the best! Yes, you do, Aladdin!" he turned to Rose who was hovering in the doorway. "And you are the best girlfriend in the universe!"

He swung her around and kissed her over and over, pausing when she smiled. "It's about time I did something for you after all you've done for me. Besides, you looked pathetic when you said goodbye to Aladdin."

That gave him an idea. "Oh! Let's go watch the film! I haven't seen it in ages!"

They ran to the movie room arm in arm and he started the film, pulling her into his lap on the couch. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair. "Really, really thank you."

"You're welcome," she smirked.

As they watched the cartoon, they laughed at the funny parts and eventually sang with "A whole new world." Rose couldn't stop giggling because the Doctor tried to sing both the male and female parts, and the entire scene reminded her of how they first met. She hugged his arms snuggly. "A whole new world with you."

"I know, let's go on a magic carpet ride next!"

"Those don't exist," she scoffed, pausing. "Do they?"

"Well, _magic_ no. Rug with anti-gravity, yes. Or, we could go on a safari with talking lions. Or, we could meet singing mermaids. Or, a hunchback in Notre Dame. Or, seven mining dwarves."

"Now you're just naming Disney films."

"Marathon?"

She chuckled. "It _is_ still your date."

"Brilliant! Marathon it is! And then I want to ride Aladdin. The horse not the bloke in the film. That'd be a bit…let's just say that I'm not Jack. Anyway, next one is your choice. _Anything_ you want."

"Anything?" she questioned mischievously. "We should stop by Mum's. Maybe we can have tea. She doesn't know that we're together yet. That'll be interesting…"

He grimaced and amended, "_Almost_ anything you want."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Fifth date: Shopping**_

The Doctor was in his bed reading while Rose was in his shower, getting ready for slumber. She was singing, as she always did, and tonight it was a song by Queen. The Doctor was doing the backup vocals. "Crazy little thing called love. This thing."

"This thing," the Doctor responded.

"Called love."

"Called love."

"It cries."

"Like a baby!" he shouted loudly.

"In a cradle all night it swings."

"Ooh ooh!"

"It jives."

"Oooh ooh!"

The water turned off, but she kept it going. "It shakes all over like a jelly fish. I kinda like it. Crazy little thing called love," she emerged in his robe and started to walk towards her room to get her jimjams.

"There goes my baby. She knows how to rock 'n roll. She drives me crazy," he continued singing playfully.

"Shut up," she laughed teasingly. "I can't help that I sing in the shower. Blimey, you and your backup vocals. _So distracting_."

"Diva," he called after her. "You have to learn how to collaborate with other artists if you're ever going to get a hit single in this business!"

She returned and climbed into bed beside him, glancing up at his face as he read. After placing her hand in front of the page, he raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned slyly. He tossed the book aside dramatically and settled in beside her. She rolled into his chest and he draped an arm across her middle. "Goodnight, Rose Mercury."

Her hand swatted his arm. "Oi. Stop making fun, _Elvis_."

"Whatever you say, doll…" he responded in his 1950s American accent. She laughed and he laced their fingers, asking quietly. "How many nights have you spent in here?"

"Um…I don't know. I've lost count. Why?"

"Oh. Well. I just noticed that you haven't been in your room at all lately."

Rose panicked. She thought that maybe she was smothering him. "Do you want me to go back into my room?"

"What? No. Do you want to go back into your room?"

"What? No. Of course not. I thought you wanted me to go back."

"No. Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Why else would you be asking me about how much time I spend in here?"

"Well, I was thinking that since you're always in here and instead of in there, and you have to go between the two to get your things…why don't you and your things just stay in here?"

Her breathing stopped. "Are you asking me to move into your room?"

"Huh. I suppose I am. Or do you not want to? Did I ask too soon? If you don't want to, that's completely understandable. It was just a thought. I have those. Thoughts. Well, most things have thoughts. Well, that depends—"

She kissed him, effectively shutting him up. "Yes, you idiot. I want to."

He grinned. "Brilliant."

"You know," she hummed thoughtfully. "We have been so busy lately we haven't gone on another date. Why don't we go shopping tomorrow?"

"Shopping," he grimaced. "What for?"

She sighed. "Let me explain girls to you, Doctor. When we move in with someone, we like to redecorate so that the room isn't just _his_ anymore. So, we should make this _ours_ and not _yours_."

He scowled. "Do I have to get a frilly duvet like in your room? And throw pillows? And…dear Lord…_pink_?"

"Everything is completely negotiable."

"But that's a trap. I never win when it comes to arguing with you. You'll only act diplomatic and get your way in the end."

She smirked. "Not if you _really_ mind it."

"That's the problem. I don't…" he looked around his room, remembering how it looked before Rose Tyler got her hands on it.

The next day, the Doctor told Rose about the perfect marketplace on a distant moon. It had a bit of everything, and it came with food and festivities. When they landed, she stepped outside of the TARDIS and was met by a winding road and a large field. "Doctor, I think the TARDIS took us to the wrong place…again."

He didn't respond. Instead, she heard the unmistakable sounds of an engine and her car appeared on the road beside her. The Doctor hopped out and tossed her the keys. "I figured you might want to go for a spin, and you'll probably buy way too much to carry. Especially since I have this," he held up a large wad of money. "Last time I was here, I saved them from a strange race of aliens. Sort of looked like deer with scales and…anyway, they wouldn't let me leave without paying me for my services. So, we are rich."

"How rich?"

"_Very_. C'mon, let's go…" he got into the passenger's seat and she started the engine. Discreetly, he tied a blindfold over his eyes and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the radio. "There we go. GPS feature. Follow its directions. I think I'll nod off for a bit. Spare myself the heart attacks."

She glanced over at the blindfold. "You think you're so clever."

"Yep. Still got it."

They arrived at the large outdoor market and began to examine the various goods. She led him around by the hand, and he followed her as he always did. They came to a section with blankets and bedding, and the arguing began. "I like this one," she stated, pointing to a decorative duvet with flowers and hearts.

"Can't we get this one?" he complained, tugging on a solid blue version.

"You have almost that same one now."

"Come to think of it I do. And I like it. Quite a lot."

"Well, the flowers are better than the teddy bears…" she challenged. "What about that one?"

They squabbled for ten minutes at the amusement of the vendor until reaching an agreement on a plaid one with _some_ girly swirls, as the Doctor put it. Next were throw pillows, although the Doctor protested. She promised that he'd get to pick something after that and she wouldn't argue. Walking away with two rectangular pillows that had girly swirls to match their duvet, he pulled her to a section with decorative rugs. He chose one depicting a scene from the mythology of nearby constellations to hang on the wall, as he didn't like carpets, and she hinted that it didn't match the rest of the room. Pointedly, he purchased it. "You said that you wouldn't argue, Rose."

After buying more things they argued over, the Doctor could hardly walk under the weight of their bags. He went to the car to leave their things in the boot, and when he returned she had a brown bag. She held it out. "Sorry about the rug thing."

He opened the bag and grinned. "You found carrots for Aladdin! And what's that? Sugar cubes? He'll love those," he paused and kissed her briskly. "Sorry about calling that lamp an insult to my masculinity, although it completely is."

She chuckled at his apology and they wandered through the tents, pausing to examine ties for the Doctor and handbags for Rose. They found a tent devoted to dresses, so the Doctor sat in a long line of chairs and other men waiting on their female counterparts. They all had bored looks on their faces, and the Doctor kept checking the time by peeking at someone else's watch. Rose emerged from the dressing tent in a stunning outfit and his eyes lit up. "Yes or no?" she inquired, moving in a slow circle.

"Yes," the man next to the Doctor declared automatically.

"Not your call, mate. She's not your girlfriend," the Doctor sent the man daggers, causing Rose to laugh uncontrollably. "Yes, you look beautiful. Now you lot," he said the rest of line as they gaped at Rose. "Stop staring. It's impolite."

Rose was enjoying his reaction as she bought the outfit and went back into the tent to change. She linked arms with the Doctor afterwards, and he smiled at her widely. "Make sure you don't wear that in public too often. Or, at least don't wear it when I'm not around to keep the men in check."

"Jealous?" she smirked wickedly.

"_Protective_. There's a difference."

They stopped for the local delicacy, and Rose didn't want to know what had been battered and deep fried. It tasted delicious, so that's all the information she needed. They sat on a bale of hay as local dancers performed a group number. The Doctor was distracted by something nearby and ushered her towards the herd of people. "Go. Dance. Be merry. I'll be back."

"What? Wait!" she called as she was tossed in the middle of the group. She went with it and started to have a wonderful time. The Doctor had vanished, and she wondered where he went off to. When the dance ended, she returned to the hay bale and waited. Several minutes later, he arrived with something behind his back. "Where'd you disappear to?"

"Oh, you know. Here and there. Out and about. Around the town. Got you something."

"Did you? What'd you get?"

He held out a pair of expensive boots in her size. "Thought you could use some new ones after you traded for a horse. Don't think that I didn't figure that one out. I'm very clever."

"I love these!" she exclaimed as she slid them on. "Perfect fit. They must have cost a fortune. Do we have any money left?"

"I got a discount," he announced proudly. "I showed them my psychic paper, proving that I am the husband of the famous Heiress of Chinooka Prime, and they gave me those boots half off. They hope you like them, by the way. And they wanted to know how the kids are doing. Didn't know we had kids. Apparently, we have seven. We've been busy."

She pulled him forward with his tie and kissed him gently. "Shopping with you is the best."

"Quite right. We still have some spending money if you want to keep looking."

"Why don't we save it for next time?" she grinned. "I have a room to redesign, and you've parked the TARDIS in a field. I think that Al would like a ride. Maybe take the seven kids along."

"Right. Can't forget the children. Where did we leave them? Don't tell me we've dropped them on some planet…again."

Rose died with chortles and he smiled, as he was addicted to that sound. They practically skipped back to Juliet, the car, and Rose let the Doctor drive. He helped unload everything into their room and took her to the console. "Watch this, Rose Tyler. Pull that lever, push that button, enter a few commands, and…" he waited, listening to the TARDIS reposition herself. "Our room is now much bigger. I've borrowed from your old one. Have fun and try to preserve my manhood."

"I solemnly swear that I will try," she said, holding up her hand. He kissed her and disappeared, returning on horseback moments later. "Be careful. Don't come back here with broken bones or an injured horse."

"I will _try_," he pretended to groan.

She entered their larger room and got to work. When she saw how much stuff they both had and the smaller room that replaced her old one, she got an idea. While she worked, the Doctor rode through the fields and hoped that their room wouldn't become _her_ room. As much as he really didn't care, the fact that she was there was enough, he did have an image to keep.

Upon returning, she met him in the console room with a crafty expression. It made him very twitchy, and as soon as he returned from the stable he gulped nervously. "Are you done?"

"Yes. Would you like to see it?"

"I don't know. You tell me…"

Rose laughed and led him into their room. It wasn't _too_ bad, but he did miss some of his items that had been replaced with hers. He hugged her waist and smiled. "I like it."

"You miss your old room."

"Of course I do. I'm a creature of habit. But, I'm very good at adjusting. Some would even call me adaptive."

"_Sure_. You keep thinking that. Well, I'm not done yet," she smiled as she pulled him out of the room. "There's another room you should see. Open the door."

He went into the smaller version of her old room, grinning in surprise. "What is this?"

"I believe it's called a 'man cave.' All our stuff wouldn't fit in the room, so I thought that you might like to have a manly escape once in awhile. You know, when you get sick of me."

The Doctor made a noise in protest. "I'll come here when I get sick of your fluffy lamps and girly swirls, but not because I'm sick of you. Not ever," he smiled and held his arms out. "I love this place! You are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

She hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you like it."

"Now, let's go test the new duvet. Several times. Data gathering is very important before reaching a conclusion, you see."

Her eyebrows waggled suggestively and he yanked her towards their room. "Are we going to leave our room at all in the next few days?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Good. Forget dates for a few months. Let's become hermits."

"That's what I like about you, Rose. The domestic approach."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sixth date: Museum**_

Rose glanced up from her trashy romance novel. There was a horrible ruckus in the hallway, but she couldn't see anything from her place in their bed. The bedroom door was open, and she could distinguish the sound of horse hooves and rubber soles.

"Aladdin!" the Doctor shouted.

The horse ran past the open door and the Doctor was in pursuit. "Al! Get back here!" his voice echoed. Moments later, she heard him yell. He was running past their door and the horse was chasing him. She stifled a laugh with her hand, waiting to see what would happen next. The Doctor was on Aladdin, clinging to his neck. "Slow down! Whoa! Stop! Aladdin Timothy Arthur Rafiq Draco Ihab Simba Tyler, _you stop this instant!_"

"Everything all right?" Rose asked, though she couldn't keep a straight face.

"No! Don't soil the console room! You're getting it everywhere!"

She burst into giggles, witnessing Aladdin gallop past their room and the Doctor chasing him on foot. Things became quiet, and her Time Lord angrily marched by with a shovel. He ran back by with a disgusted look on his face, holding the full shovel in front of him. Rose didn't say anything when he stalked into their room, kicking off his filthy shoes and loosening his tie. He sat on the edge of their bed, rubbing his face. "I need a break. We go out, run around for several days, save a planet, come back, chase a horse, fix the TARDIS, fix Juliet, go somewhere else and it starts over again. Even I'm getting tired. Me! I'm never tired. You know that," he winked suggestively. "That's it. We are going on a date. I know just the place."

"Something nice and relaxing?" Rose asked hopefully. She wouldn't admit it, but she was just as tired as he was.

"Oh yes. A museum!"

Her face fell. "I said _relaxing_ not _boring_."

"Museums aren't boring!"

"Wouldn't you be bored? I mean you've been to all these places personally."

"Exactly!" he grinned giddily. "I like to make fun of the inaccuracies. But that's not the point, Rose. This museum is different. It has live animals and planetariums and cinemas and loads of gift stores."

"Gift stores?" she perked up. "Shopping?"

"The finest. Guess who has a member card…"

"Does that mean we can actually buy things?"

He nodded. "Much as you'd like."

She put her book aside and went into their wardrobe room. He didn't move and she popped her head out at him. "What are you waiting for? Go do your piloting thing. I'm looking for the perfect outfit."

"That's why I'm waiting. I've got another hour before you're half done."

He ducked as she tossed a shoe at his head.

They arrived and as soon as Rose was ready, which did take almost two hours. He pointed to the unnaturally large building with emphasis. "Rose Tyler, you are now in the fifty-first century at the universe's largest museum! It's called 'the Universe's Largest Museum'! ULM for short."

"That's original," she smirked as she took his arm. "Show me the way."

"With pleasure."

The entry way was packed with tourists of all species, and the Doctor shoved them through the mass of people as quickly as possible. "First stop, the ancient history wing!" he was so excited it was nauseating. "Of course, _their_ definition of ancient is the twentieth century, a little over three thousand years ago. I'd hate to see what they would call the prehistoric era. Doubt they'd even know what a dinosaur is if it came traipsing through the doors."

Rose stopped him in front of the Earth display. "Why does it say that humans on Earth in the twentieth century were barbarians?"

"You remember dial-up internet and cassette tapes, don't you?"

She leaned in closer to the exhibit, noting old cell phones and a typewriter. The clothing on the waxen figure of a human was nothing like what they wore. "We didn't wear togas."

"They saw a scene from Animal House and took it the wrong way. Isn't fun to know more than the Universe's Largest Museum?"

Rose laughed and pulled her to more exhibits from species all around the universe. When they got to one about a race of telepaths, the Doctor positioned her in front of the glass. He stood next to her and didn't move. "What's going on?" she whispered. He shushed her and took her hand. On the other side, he appeared in his ninth carnation and she was her nineteen year old self. A hand went to her mouth. Quickly, they changed into their newer forms and then into their current state. After that, it showed them as an elderly couple. He was still rather young, but his hair had slightly greyed and his face was marked with creases. She was clearly in her seventies. "That's our future?"

"Well, it's guessing. It can see into us in relation to one another. That's what it thinks we'll look like in fifty years. I've never tested the results, though, so hard to know if it's at all accurate."

"Do you have a camera?"

"Brilliant thinking!" he rifled through his pockets, producing everything from wind-up toys to floatation devices. Rose was starting to worry that he wouldn't find it before the image disappeared, but he eventually pulled the large, vintage camera from his breast pocket. He snapped a picture of the images and they faded. "We'll have to compare. Don't forget to remind me in fifty years."

She grinned. "I won't."

After going through several more exhibits and hearing the Doctor shout _"That's wrong, and that's terribly wrong. They don't know anything about history! I point and laugh at archeologists for this very reason!"_ they decided to pop into the shops for a bit. Rose bought a few things, but she was more interested in the zoo. They went to that section via tram, and she gaped in wonder.

"When you said they had animals…" she began slowly. "I thought that you meant…animals."

"They are," he defended. "I just didn't mention that they're alien animals."

She walked along the various cages, stopping at a few for a closer look. Some were almost like Earth creatures, but most of them were utterly odd. One looked like a giant scorpion with squid tentacles and the head of a warthog. They paused to watch a water performance by a whale-like beast, chuckling as it balanced a ball on its third head. He almost ripped her arm off when he tugged her outside and up the steps of a different structure. Without slowing down, he left his member card with a clerk at the desk and grabbed a handful of curious twigs.

"Rose, meet the hoofibouraffe. A cross between a giraffe, caribou, and hoofiensian. That's a big blubbery bobbly beastie from the planet Hexerthor. We are going to feed one," he explained as he handed her half of the twigs. "They aren't known for their looks, so don't panic when you see it. It's actually quite loving if you get past the ooze and general stench."

One appeared by the balcony to be fed. Rose held her nose in disgust, noticing the slimy skin and furry face. Its eyes were the same as a giraffe, and their sweet stare won her over. She edged closer and the Doctor held her up by the waist, allowing her to reach its mouth. It took the handful of twigs and glided away. She kissed him sweetly when he set her down. "You're right. This isn't the average museum."

"Oh! Mine is here!" he exclaimed as he balanced on the railing, giving Rose a near heart attack. He put the twigs in his mouth and titled his head back.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "It's going to eat off your face and you're about to fall off!"

He didn't answer. His hoofibouraffe had arrived and delicately nibbled at the twigs until its slimy fur grazed his face. Hopping down, he removed a wipe from his pocket and cleaned his cheeks and chin. "Aren't those things fascinating? Truly incredible."

"You just had a Lady and the Tramp moment with a hooviblewgiraffee."

"_Hoofibouraffe. _And that's another great film! Can't go wrong with Disney. You're jealous because you weren't playing the part of Lady. That's all it is."

"_Protective_. There's a difference, Doctor."

His eyes lit up and he led her away from the zoo, sneaking into an educational film about the rise and fall of a civilization called Maxinemus Otanga. They enjoyed themselves, but they didn't watch a moment of the film. They were much too busy in the back, as Rose didn't seem to mind that he snogged a hoofibouraffe moments before snogging her.

The last stop on the list was the planetarium. Unfortunately, upon arriving they were met with a sign that told them it was closed on Sundays. "But we never land on Sundays," Rose grumbled. "Do we? I can't remember ever being anywhere on a Sunday with you."

"Well, you're right. Normally, I don't land on Sundays. Much too boring. But."

"But what?"

"It's never boring with you. And this is much too crowded any other time. Now then, I say that we have a private showing…" he grinned excitedly and used his sonic on the door, ushering her inside.

She looked up at the enormous dome as he flipped on a few lights. He ran up to the control station and entered a few commands, using his sonic screwdriver to lock every door in the room. She was seated in the front row and he plopped down beside her, remotely turning on the presentation. The dome lit up to reveal the night sky and space itself. Her eyes were filled with the reflections and he glared at the computer. "Bloody voiceover. It's incorrect anyway," he switched the voiceover into a radio station devoted to the King.

"This is unbelievable. I always wanted to go on a field trip to one of these as a kid. Never did. Now, every day is a field trip with you. Only our school bus is a blue box. It can go a little farther than the buses."

"A little," he joked. "And it's much better on gas mileage."

She grinned and he gave a low giggle. "Can't help falling in love" came onto the radio after a short while. She got up and pulled him to his feet, dancing in a slow circle under the stars. He held her close as they twirled about, and she nibbled on her low lip in thought.

"How about next time we do something completely mad? Something daring and dangerous like bungee jumping off a famous bridge or hang gliding on some distant planet."

"That's why I love you, Rose Tyler. No fear. Always taking charge and fighting the good fight. You are unstoppable."

She had to disagree because in that moment she had stopped breathing. "What did you say?"

"You're unstoppable?"

"No before that."

"Taking charge? Fighting the good fight?"

"_No_," she was getting irritated. "You said that you loved me, didn't you?"

He ceased dancing and tugged on his collar. "I believe that…I might have…the words may have been…"

"You said it. _I love you_. I heard you. That's first time you've ever told me that."

"You're acting like you didn't know," he responded, horrified by her expression. "What? Wait, _what_? You didn't know?"

"You hadn't said!"

"I didn't think it needed saying! I thought that you knew! I thought that you've known since that slip up in front of Sarah Jane…I _almost_ said it then!"

"All of the way back then?"

"What did you think I meant when I dramatically stopped the sentence: _Imagine watching that happen to someone you…_? I thought it was assumed!"

"I'm a _human girl_, and we need to hear those three words! Often! We can't _assume _anything! Blimey, you're complete rubbish at this sort of thing."

He scoffed. "And you didn't know that either?"

"Years I've traveled with you. _Years_. How many dates is this? Five?"

"Six."

"After how many months of dating and you, Doctor, are just _now_ telling me all this?"

Huffing, he crossed his arms. "You haven't said it either."

"Because you didn't say it first! I can't be the first one to say it. What if you didn't say it back? What if by saying it you'd panic and never say it back? What if I said it and you—"

His lips stopped hers and they pulled apart. "There. Nice and quiet."

"You really mean it? You love me?" her eyes were unbelievably vulnerable. He took her hand gently.

"Yes. Why else would we be where we are today?"

She smiled. "I love you too, Doctor."

"See? All better. Remember how you wanted to do something daring?"

Hesitating, she answered, "Yeah…"

"Let's start now. Right here, under the stars, to the sounds of Elvis…" he waggled his eyebrows and she pulled him in by the tie, forcing them to the ground.

They were lying underneath the dome, the Doctor having looped the same presentation three times by then, with no clothing and just his coat draped across him. She was asleep and he was happier than he'd ever been. In fact, he was singing with the music. "And I love you so. People ask me how I've lived 'til now. I tell them I don't know. I guess they understand how lonely life has been, but life began again the day you took my hand…"

He was interrupted by someone pounding on the door and trying to get inside. "Oi! We know you're in there!"

"Rose, get up!" he whispered. "They've discovered we're in here. Get dressed."

He pulled on his trousers and she did the same with her jeans, frowning at the disappearance of her shirt. "Doctor, where's my shirt?"

The door was about to give. "Put on mine. I'll find it."

After scouring the rows of seating, he found it and laughed at how far he managed to toss it. He ran back down and slipped on his coat, escaping into the maintenance hallway just as the angry men got inside the room. They laughed as they ran towards the TARDIS. "How'd they find us out, you think?" Rose smiled curiously.

"I'd guess security cameras."

Her face fell. "You're saying that they saw…?"

"Either that or they found out the show was running. If it was security cameras, we should request the tapes."

She hit his arm. People stared as they jogged through the crowds, her in his big shirt and him in nothing but his coat. Once they reached the TARDIS, they changed and crawled into bed. She kissed him goodnight with a breathtaking smile, and they both fell asleep. A few hours later, she felt his tongue on her ear and she roused, giggling. "Doctor, knock it off. I'm trying to sleep." It didn't stop. "I'm serious. You wore me out already. And go brush your teeth. You have horse breath."

That's when it hit her.

Sitting up quickly, she glanced over at the empty spot on their bed and the large Arabian standing beside it. "Doctor! Aladdin got out again! Did you put sonic horseshoes on him?" she paused and fumbled for the fluffy lamp on her side of the bed. The horse licked her neck and she giggled. "All right, you're charming. I'll give you that. Let's go find our Time Lord."

She got up and he trotted beside her faithfully. After searching almost anywhere, she spotted a red light coming from his man cave. She knocked and he poked his head out in funny goggles. "What are you doing up? You should be sleeping."

"Look behind me," she mumbled with a gesture.

He looked and groaned. "Aladdin Timothy Arthur Rafiq Draco Ihab Simba Tyler! You are getting a new lock on your stable and that's final!"

"What are you doing?" she yawned softly.

"Developing our picture. I've temporarily turned this room into a dark room of sorts. Well, a more modern version of a dark room. It's almost done…" he paused and heard a ding. "Aha! That goes ding when there's stuff. Hang on."

She waited, almost falling asleep standing up. He returned with the photograph and she smiled widely. "We should frame that," she yawned heavily. Aladdin kept licking her ear and she idly pushed him back, turning towards their room. "I'm going to sleep before I fall over."

He grinned as she went into their room. "Leave your mummy alone, Aladdin. She needs to rest before our next date. Now, let's go find a frame. I know I have one around here somewhere…" he glanced at the picture and his grin widened. "This photograph better be a fixed point in time."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Seventh date: Adventures**_

"I don't think I can do this…" Rose mumbled through closed eyes. She clung tighter. "No, I _know_ I can't."

"This was your idea, Rose…" the Doctor reminded her playfully. "Can't back out now."

"Well, you should have stopped me when I asked for this date. You should have said, _Rose Tyler, you are being completely facetious. Let's watch a film in our jimjams instead_."

He laughed. "Nice use of _facetious. _That does sound like me. Well, except for the part where I'm suggesting something boring instead of this adventure!"

Rose was strapped into a zip line on a jungle planet a few galaxies away from Earth. Her hands were clinging to the grips and she refused to get onto the seat. She wouldn't look down at the enormous drop to the canopy below. Her idea of a daring and dangerous adventure sounded good in her head, but actually being there was another story.

"Doctor…" she whined in a shrill voice. "I don't want to. What if it breaks?"

"It's a steal line. You're strapped in safely. You even have a helmet, which sits surprisingly well on you. On second thought, maybe not surprisingly. Still, my point stands. It's safe or I wouldn't have brought you here. You're holding up the queue."

She was frozen in place. "Something might go wrong and then I'd fall to the ground with a big _splat_. You have nothing to worry about. You can survive falls. Even if you can't, you could get a new face. I'm stuck with this face, you know!"

"Calm down, Rose. It's a good face to be stuck with. Now," he easily picked her up and sat her on the seat, despite her kicking and screaming. He gave her a peck on the cheek. "Allons-y!"

With a shove, she went flying down the zip line, shrieking the entire way. He followed her down on the next car, laughing excitedly as he plummeted to the thick rainforest below. When he arrived, she was waiting for him with no expression whatsoever.

"Did you like it?" he asked carefully. "Not going to kill me for pushing you?"

She grinned shyly. "Wasn't so bad. Once I got over the near death experience. My whole life flashed before my eyes. My _whole_ life. Didn't see you at all."

He frowned. "You didn't see me? Your whole life and you didn't see me? Who did you see? Don't tell me it was Mickey. Please don't tell me that. Or Jack. God, I hope it wasn't Jack. Was it? Did you see Jack over me? Him and his _I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?_ There's a time and place for that and he never…but seriously? Not me?"

Her hand swatted his arm as she cackled. "That's payback for forcing me down here."

"That's not funny. That is so _not_ funny."

"You should have seen your face!" she smirked with her tongue escaping her lips. He pouted. "You shouldn't have gotten so upset. You know that the only thing I'd see is you."

That perked him right up. "Molto bene! I better be. Now, let's keep this date moving!"

They wandered back up the cliff on a hover tram to gather their things. He had their day all planned out and his psychic paper to grant them entry. It was a recreational planet, and they had plenty of exciting things to try. Next up was white water rafting. They set their things down on the riverbank and the Doctor went to fetch their raft. It came in a ball and he pulled the string, as it inflated to full size and produced the paddles.

"This is one for two!" he explained with a smile. "We just paddle along the river. No big problem there. Oh!" he went through his pockets and handed her a life vest. "There you are."

"Aren't you going to wear one?" she asked incredulously.

"No, it wouldn't go with my suit. Besides, it's only a grade two river. Very basic. I'll be fine."

"What, and I won't?" she retorted nervously, running her hands over the vest.

He scoffed. "You'll be fine too. It's only a precaution. I want you safe and sound no matter what happens. Anyway," he cleared his throat and began cheerfully singing, "row row row your boat gently down the stream!"

They put the raft in the water and hopped inside. He sat at the front to do most of the paddling, and she followed his lead. At first, everything was easy going. The water wasn't too rough and nothing was in their way. Then, the current picked up and jagged rocks began to appear. They avoided them fairly easily until the water got even faster.

"Is it supposed to be this hard?" Rose grunted as they started to spin out of control.

"Um…no…it's…" he paused as they swung about quickly. "Apparently I read the sign beside the rafts incorrectly."

"What do you mean incorrectly?"

"The water _starts_ at a grade two. This appears to be increasing to a grade five," he explained as they went over a nasty drop.

After they recovered, Rose inquired, "What's the difference?"

"A grade six is considered suicide."

She swallowed hard. "So we're a step below suicide, then?"

"Yep…looks like it…hang on."

They came to a serious waterfall and the current was too strong to paddle upstream. Rose clung to a few handles on the inside of the raft, and they fell a good distance to a calmer part of the river below. It was a basin of sorts, and upon impact their raft flipped over and tossed them into the water. Rose instantly surfaced thanks to her life vest. She swam over to their raft and held on. "Doctor?" she called anxiously. When he didn't answer, she began to panic. "Doctor!"

His head surfaced and he took a long breath. "That was refreshing!"

"Bet you wish you had a vest now," she laughed as he awkwardly doggie paddled to her side.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. Just…" he coughed up a large amount of water. "…a bit wet."

She giggled and helped flip the raft over. They crawled back inside, laughing as they drifted gently. "Merrily merrily merrily merrily," he hummed quietly. "Life is but a dream. Your verse!"

"Row row row your boat…" she sang through her chortles.

Eventually, without having to paddle much at all and finishing the song nineteen times, they got to the end of the rafting tour and took another tram back to their packs. Next up was backpacking through the density of the jungle. Rose was hunched over from the weight of her pack and he stopped moving on the trail to observe her. "If you didn't pack so much, you wouldn't be ruining your posture. What did you bring?"

"Clothes, shoes, food, a few reading materials, makeup…"

"The entire TARDIS…"

"Shut it. It's all necessities."

He huffed. "Not the makeup. You don't need that."

"Are you insulting my packing abilities or complimenting my appearance?" she grinned wickedly.

"Bit of both. Let's take the trail on the right and see where it goes!"

They wandered through the vines and trees, pausing to point and watch the local wildlife. It was absolutely stunning, and they were having an excellent time. Half of the way through, Rose wanted a closer look at one of the native bird-like creatures. She stepped off the trail and landed at an angle, effectively twisting her ankle. She yelped and the Doctor came running.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing serious. Just turned my ankle 'round the wrong way."

"Can you stand on it?" he inquired as he offered her a hand up. She almost fell over. "That's a no, then. Let me have a look."

While carefully examining her, they heard a low growling sound. She looked around and tugged on his coat. "Doctor, there's a very angry animal coming towards us."

It appeared to be a cross between a tiger and a bear. He moved his pack, which was just his usual satchel, so that it was a shoulder bag. "Slowly, get up on your good foot and jump onto my back."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Worth a try. Or would you rather stay put and get eaten?"

With some difficultly she managed to get onto his back and he held her legs. He backed away from the beast and started to run with surprising ease. "Don't overdo it," she warned, knowing that her pack alone had to weigh almost five stone.

"You know I have a strong back, especially after last night," he grinned cheekily as his legs carried them as fast they could. Her blush could have been seen from outer space.

They came to a dead end and he had to stop, looking about for an escape route. The beast was getting closer and closer, so he put Rose down behind him and went through his pockets. He found a package of ham. Rose raised her eyebrows. "You carry ham?"

"Well, not always. I thought it'd go well with the rest of the TARDIS kitchen, which you've conveniently packed…" he countered, holding the ham as an offering. The beast got closer and Rose gripped the tail of the Doctor's coat nervously. "There's a good beasty. Come get a snack. Yes, you like ham. Ham is good."

It took the ham delicately from the Doctor's hand and made a purring noise. To their surprise, it nudged the Doctor's hand for some attention and then flipped on its back for a belly rub. He obliged with a wide smile. Rose shook her head. "I know what you're thinking. The answer is no."

"But it's so charming! And soft. You should feel this fur. Like satin or velvet. And look! It's smiling at me! Hello, you. Sorry we thought you were a killer. I'll call you Rajah."

"You're not keeping it. You don't even know what it is."

His face fell. "Oh all right! Rajah stays here."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"The sad puppy dog eyes. You're trying to guilt me into saying yes."

"Why do you have to be so bloody clever?" he grumbled as he pulled her pack onto his back, lifting her into his arms bridal style. "Let's go to the campsite. Bye, Rajah. Nice to have met you. Too bad my other half won't you can't come along."

"I said _don't_."

He groaned. "Rose…can't you just consider keeping him?"

"Let me think about it. Uh, no. No, I think a horse is enough."

"What about two horses? Can I get another one?"

"No."

"How about a—"

"_No_. A robot dog is all you can get."

After grumbling under his breath, he declared, "You're just a big fun-sucking funsucker of—"

"All that's fun and holy. So I've heard. I can't be too bad or you wouldn't be madly in love with me."

That made him smile. "Well, when you put it like that…"

She grinned triumphantly as they arrived at the makeshift campsite. He gently popped her ankle back into place, allowing her to walk on her own. She went into their tent to change clothes and came out urgently, half dressed. "Big spider. Big, _big_ spider."

"They don't have spiders on this planet," he assured her, going into their tent and running back out in a rush. "So they have spiders. It's not so bad."

"Why'd you run out then?"

"I was. Just. Um. Surprised by the. Spiders aren't supposed to get that. They aren't supposed to be. Well, that huge. Exoskeletons can't take the pressure of gravity. They would be unable to move and collapse in on themselves. Unless they happen to occur underwater. Lobsters can become quite enormous. They never stop growing. Did you know that? They just grow and grow and grow…"

She motioned to their tent. "Can you take care of that? I'm sort of naked and out in the open."

"Only sort of."

"Doctor!"

"Right. Sorry. I'll just…" he went through his pack and then his pockets. Nothing useful there. He went through Rose's and found a very big pan with a lid. "I told you that you brought the entire kitchen. Not that I'm complaining at this point in time." He vanished into the tent and returned with her things, but no spider. "Didn't fit in the pan. It's not happy I tried."

She briskly changed and set out a blanket. "Sleep under the stars?"

"Oh yes. We'll just leave that tent for the next campers."

They huddled beside a campfire and beneath several blankets. She yawned quietly and ran a few fingers through his hair. "What's on the schedule for tomorrow?"

"Bungee jumping and hang gliding."

"Maybe we should just go home…"

He shook his head. "It'll be loads of fun. You'll see. Besides, it's couple's hang gliding and couple's bungee. We'll be strapped in together. So, if something goes wrong, you'll have a Doctor shaped cushion to break your fall."

She grimaced. "You do know that the possibility of something going wrong is unusually high with us? Just look at today."

"Right and it's more exciting that way! It's always something, Rose. You know you like it."

"You've got me on that one," she chuckled. "All right. We'll do it."

He smiled and pecked her forehead. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Ten minutes later, the Doctor felt a strange sensation on his neck. He grunted and repositioned, feeling it again. One eye opened and he was met with four pairs looking back, the long leg hairs brushing his skin. Slowly, he woke Rose and spoke calmly. "Remember that bit about us always getting in trouble?"

"Uh-huh," she mumbled into his chest.

"That thing living in our tent is paying us a visit," he whispered. She opened her eyes and leapt up, running to the other side of the fire. He pulled himself upwards and the unbelievably big spider, which was the size of a medium dog, edged closer. He didn't move, grinning about the intriguing creature.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Surely you're not bonding with it. What are you going to name this one? Something else from Aladdin?"

"No," he laughed. "I would name it Aragog after the giant spider in the Harry Potter books. You have read those, haven't you? Of course you have. Everyone has. Well, almost everyone. Most everyone…" the spider raised its front legs and made a clicking sound. "And that means it's growling like a dog and is about to bite," he informed her as he cautiously backed away. "I'd say that this calls for the usual course of action."

"Run," she agreed.

"Yeah," he squeaked. "I say run."

They took off into the jungle and hid behind a few trees. Luckily, they weren't followed. She started giggling tiredly. "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"

"I believe you mean that _I_ can't take _you_ anywhere."

"Dream on, Time Lord. Why don't we call it a night? Head back home?"

"That sounds brilliant," he smiled. "We'll swing around and get our things in the morning after Aragog goes to sleep."

They linked hands and started to walk home. "What about all that adventuring we're supposed to do tomorrow?" she inquired.

"I think that maybe you're right. Considering the way things went today, we'd probably break everything and plunge to the jungle floor. I'd rather not risk death or regeneration. I quite like this face. It's…what's the word…yes! _Foxy_."

She shuddered at the memories. "Let's go with handsome instead."

"I suppose that I've been called worse."

They chuckled and she smiled to herself. "As fun as it always is, Doctor…let's not go on any more dangerous dates for a while. We get enough of that already."

"Agreed. But nothing boring. I don't do boring."

"You couldn't if you tried."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Eighth date: Double trouble**_

"You know," Rose began through bites of breakfast. "It's almost been a month since our last date."

"Wonder why," he answered idly, pushing around his food with a fork. "Might have something to do with the near death experiences and Aragog the spider."

She giggled and threw a napkin at him. "It wasn't that bad."

"No, you're right. It was brilliant. It always is on our dates."

Grinning, she attempted to broach the subject gently. "I know that _technically_ this is your turn to pick…"

"Oh here it comes…" he groaned. "Please don't say what I think you're going to say."

"Doctor, it's time. It's been _months_ since we stopped by Mum's place. Every time I call she wants me to visit. I haven't told her about us. We should tell her together, I think. She should at least know why I haven't had time."

He rubbed his face. "Rose, you know that your mother is important to me _because_ she's your mother. But, it's Jackie. _Jackie_. Do we really have to do the human tradition of dinner with your girlfriend's mother? Really? Can't we just exempt ourselves from that one?"

"No, we can't. You're the one sleeping with a human. You have to deal with the consequences. Besides, we've put it off long enough. I know it's been over seven months by now. We share a room, we've admitted how we feel, and we practically have a child together."

Her eyes drifted to the horse at the end of the kitchen table, eating horse food from a regular bowl. A line of slobber began to drip and the Doctor wiped it away tenderly. "Aladdin isn't our child. He's a horse."

She folded her arms, challenging his words. "What did you name him? Full name."

He hesitated. "Aladdin Timothy Arthur Rafiq Draco Ihab Simba Tyler."

"Right. What do you say to him when I visit you in the stable?"

Again, he scratched his head and spoke softly. "I say that his mummy stopped by."

"And who wakes us up in the morning by trying to get into bed? Who do we buy things for? Who eats at the table with us? Who do we have a picture of on our night table next to the photo from the museum? Who do we clean up after? Who do we bathe, feed, entertain, house—"

"Okay, you can stop now."

She grinned. "So Mum's it is?"

"Oh, all right. But I chose the next one and you cannot complain. Not a word out of you."

Her smile made it all worth it. "Thank you, Doctor. Can you take us back about two months? I haven't called her in close to three, so at least she won't complain about that when we land. Now would be a good time to go, don't you think?"

"Now?" he whined. He stopped when she glared and he got up from the table. Aladdin followed him into the console room. "The things I do for your mummy, Al."

"I heard that!" she called as he grimaced.

The course was set and they got ready to visit Jackie. As they walked to the Powell Estate, Rose took his hand reassuringly. "She might hit you."

"What? Why?"

"We haven't seen her in a long time. My own mother. I feel awful about it. It's your fault for distracting me, and she's going to blame you for it too."

He put on a sassy expression. "You like my _distractions_."

"Belt up," she whispered as her face turned red. "Don't embarrass me in front of my mum."

"Why not? It'll give me something to do."

She threatened him with her hand. "She won't be the only one hitting you."

He shook his head. "Women. Just like their mothers," she whacked him. "Ouch! What was that for? Oh, hold on. Never mind. I deserved that."

Jackie opened the door when Rose knocked and laughed excitedly. "My Rose is home! Finally, after all this time. I thought that I wouldn't see you again for a _year_," she glared at the Doctor and hugged Rose tightly. "You're just in time for some tea. Come on in!"

They entered and stood awkwardly in the living room. Jackie got them all tea and they didn't sit down. Rose glanced at the Doctor and cleared her throat. "Mum, we have some news."

"Okay…" Jackie answered hesitantly.

"We're um…me and him are…" she attempted, finally just taking his hand to explain what she was trying to say.

Jackie noticed and sipped her tea calmly. "You two are a couple. Yeah, I knew that."

"You what?" the Doctor and Rose said together.

She shrugged. "Who doesn't know that? It's always been obvious that it'd happen someday. Is that all or are you lot getting married?"

They stammered for a few minutes and Jackie held up her hand. They stopped talking and she just grinned. "So not yet. Okay. Fine. But you, Doctor, should have brought her around here sooner! I'm not happy with you. I say I have a right to slap you silly if I wanted to. But, I'm in a good mood. You're lucky. _This time_."

He grimaced slightly. "Thanks for that."

"Why are you in a good mood? Something happen?" Rose inquired carefully.

"Oh yes! I've met a man. He's wonderful. Thomas is his name. We've been together for about two months now. He owns a dry cleaners down the block. Such a snappy dresser. Great hair. Really great hair. Hold on! I'm going out with him tonight. It's the pub on the corner. Why don't you two come along? It'll be a double date."

The Doctor's grimace deepened. "A double date with your mum?" Rose discreetly elbowed him in the ribs and winced. "Right, we'd _love_ to. Really, _really _love to. Can't think of anything better than _that_."

"Great! I'll call him up right now and tell him you're coming. He's been wanting to meet my daughter. Too bad she's been so busy…" she glared at the Doctor on her way out.

Rose smiled. "A double date with my mother."

"You owe me."

"Don't worry about that, Doctor…" she winked as she went to join her mother in the kitchen. He was left daydreaming.

Later that night after getting properly dressed for a night on the town, they walked to the pub to meet Jackie and Thomas. Thomas was about Jackie's age and a thick head of black hair. He wasn't bad looking, but one eye did seem to move on its own. They got a table in the back corner and listened to Thomas talk about the exciting world of dry cleaning. Rose kept following his roving eyeball and the Doctor almost fell asleep.

They were going mad.

"And that's why we do that in the business," Thomas laughed deeply. "But enough about me. What do you two do for a living?"

"We travel," Rose explained.

"Your mum mentioned that. Where do you go?"

"All over," the Doctor responded as he drank his fourth banana daiquiri.

Thomas nodded and looked to Jackie to keep things moving. She waved him off as she sucked down her fifth drink. "So how long have you been together?" he attempted.

"We don't know exactly. We've traveled for years, but our first date was karaoke about seven months ago," Rose took the Doctor's hand affectionately.

Thomas apparently found that amusing, as he laughed again. "Really? That's odd."

"Karaoke is not odd," the Doctor defended. "It's a brilliant time."

"No. Not that. It's karaoke night here. It starts in ten minutes."

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other and smiled, darting towards the sign-up sheet. Jackie shook her head when Thomas offered to sign them up too. "I'm not drunk enough yet. Getting there."

After listening to a few people, it was the Doctor's turn. He leapt onto the stage and held the microphone close. "Hello! This one is for a certain someone in the room," he waited for the music to start and jumped right in. "Love, love me do. You know I love you. I'll always be true, so please, love me do. Whoa, love me do…"

Rose cheered at her place by the foot of the stage and was surprised when her mother and Thomas danced past her. Jackie was giggling loudly and calling Thomas "_Schmoopy_." Rose turned red when the couple stopped dancing and decided to make out against the bar instead. Once the song was over, the Doctor joined her on the floor and she pointed to her mum. "Is that what we look like when we snog in public? Are we that disgustingly sweet?"

"Yep," the Doctor affirmed. "We travel the universe just to make people queasy with our affections. But, I think we aren't quite as bad as they are…" he trailed off and shuddered at the sight. "Your mother. That's just _wrong_. I've been mentally scarred now. I need therapy. Or memory repression. _Something_."

Rose chuckled and heard her name called. She kissed him briskly and he cheered as she began her song. "Partial to your abracadabra. Enraptured by the joy of it all, so stop me where you start. The cockles of his heart. The panties sends it right up the wall."

Jackie and Thomas stopped the excessive kissing when they heard Rose. Jackie shouted words of encouragement, and then the couple danced over to the Doctor. Before he could figure out what happened, Thomas had passed Jackie off and she was leading. The Doctor tried to stop the dance, but she was unnaturally strong and clearly on her way to completely gone.

"Doctor," she started as they moved. "You can sing. You're great. Really great. Like a little songbird. Or a big songbird. You're so…tall. Did you ever think about becoming a pop star? I'll bet you could. With that voice and that. Hair. I like men with great hair. Hair is good."

"All right, you are clearly drunk," he chuckled. "Rose is the one with the voice. I just have enthusiasm. Can't carry a tune to save my life."

Jackie pointed a finger in his face. "You know what? I was only being nice, but since you said it first…you're right. She's _much_ better than you. _Loads_ better. It's like she's a superstar and you're a bloke belting in the shower. You know, the one that uses the soap as a microphone and thinks nobody can hear him. But, the people next door can hear _everything_ and they think it's a dying cat. That's who you are, Doctor! A dying cat! Ha!"

He frowned. "Thank you, Jackie. That helps my ego."

"You're welcome. Was that song for Rose? The one you sang? If you can call it singing!"

Once again, he frowned. "I don't like you when you're drunk."

"You don't like me when I'm not."

"You do have a point there. But yes, that song was for her. I thought that was obvious when I said it was for a certain someone in the room."

"How am I supposed to know? There are loads of people in this room," she laughed, tripping slightly. "You must really love her to sing like that."

He swallowed uncomfortably. "Yes. I do."

"Aw that's so sweet. Don't be stupid and let her go. You have to commit. Girls need that. Commitment. And…yeah. I think you know what I mean. But seriously. How are you so…tall? I feel like a tiny person dancing with you."

Thomas cut back in as Rose finished her song. The Doctor went to the stage and helped Rose down, pulling her into a dance as the next bloke started to sing. She smiled at him. "I saw that you danced with my mum."

"I was forced. She is _gone_. Absolutely _gone_. It's scaring me."

"She does that," Rose chuckled, sending a glance at the couple. "He really seems to like her. I hope it works out. Even if he is boring. Did you notice his eye?"  
"Yes! It circles about! I can't decide which eye to look at. What's socially acceptable? Drawing attention to it or trying to stare at the other one? Doubt I could ignore it if I tried," he smiled, gazing at her softly. "You were brilliant up there, by the way. That song is your best."

"Seriously? Better than our duet of Queen?"

"Oh yes. Partial to your abracadabra is a perfect summation."

She raised an eyebrow. "Of what?"

"You know. This."

When she stopped dancing, he kissed her and she held on tightly. It wasn't until they heard Jackie on the speakers that they pulled apart. "Hello. Is this thing on?" she whacked it with her palm and the speakers squeaked piercingly. "I'm singing Cliff Richard. It's for my _schmoopy woopy_ Thomas. He's great. You should go to his dry cleaners. Just down the block. They're running some shirt special thing. Anyway, it's a song called. Um. Oh, you'll get the bloody idea. Play it!"

Rose put a hand on her face. "Oh my god."

"That's your mother," he teased. "Drunk and about to sing in front of _all _these people."

"You go, Jackie!" Thomas shouted from the crowd as the music began. "Shirts forty percent off! I have business cards if anyone's interested!"

"Congratulations and celebrations when I tell everyone that you're in love with me. Congratulations and jubilations. I want the world to know I'm happy as can be!" Jackie sang terribly, holding the microphone away. "Rose! Rose! You know this one! Come up here and sing with me!"

She shook her head no, but the Doctor was pushing her towards the stage. Even though she tried to fight back, the Doctor easily put her up there and Jackie grabbed her by the arm.

"Who could believe that I could be happy and contented? I used to think that happiness hadn't been invented, but that was in the bad old days before I met you when I let you walk into my heart…"

Thomas wandered over to the Doctor and clapped him roughly on the back. "That's a sight, isn't it? The Tyler women, singing and dancing up there."

"Double trouble," the Doctor responded, although he was smiling as he watched them dancing around like fools on the stage.

"Jackie's quite a woman. I like her a lot. I can tell that you like Rose a lot too. It's these blonds. They get in your heart and don't let go. You thinking of making things official?"

The Doctor shifted awkwardly. "We're not the settling down type."

"Who said marriage is settling down?" Thomas snorted. "Plenty of married people still travel and cause trouble. It just means that they're dedicated to traveling and causing trouble _together_. I think that we're a bit too old to get married again, me and Jackie. But you two are young. All the time in the world. Just something to think about. I might have a bum eye, but I'm not blind…" he grinned and shook the Doctor's hand. "You kids have a future."

The song stopped and Rose had to help Jackie down. She lunged herself at Thomas and Rose tugged on the Doctor's sleeve. "What do you say about singing that Queen duet here?"

He smiled. "I say sign us up! I'll get the daiquiris."

They sang their song and then danced through the pub. Rose even danced with Thomas, who was much more interesting when he was inebriated. They had a few more rounds and laughed a whole lot about nothing in particular. It was getting to be very late, and Jackie managed to them thrown out for her loudness. Rose called a cab for her mother and Thomas, and they stood on the sidewalk as their ride arrived. Jackie hugged Rose and planted a huge kiss on the Doctor. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve frantically afterwards.

"We're gonna go, but I'll call you in the morning," Rose promised. She reconsidered at the look on her mother's face. "Right. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon once you're done with the hangover."

Thomas also hugged Rose. "So nice to meet you."

"Yeah. Same for me. Be safe you two."

He nodded to the Doctor who nodded in return. They watched the cab leave and wandered back to the TARIDS, arm in arm. Once inside, Rose collapsed on their bed. She was a little tipsy herself and the room kept spinning. He was fine and got on the bed beside her.

"Was that so bad?" she asked him with a smile.

"If I say that it wasn't, will you not owe me one?"

She laughed. "No. Really, were you miserable?"

"Not really. Well, I was before Thomas drank so much. It also wasn't fun _after _your mother drank so much…"

"I agree," she sighed. "Mum is awful when she's drunk, but Thomas isn't bad."

"Yeah. He's a good bloke. Very wise."

"Wise?" she repeated curiously. "Where'd you get that?"

He frowned at his slip. "Oh, we talked some while you sang with your mother."

"About anything in particular?"

"This and that. I wouldn't mind seeing them again."

She sat up at that in surprise. "Are you joking?"

"No. But not soon. Definitely not soon. I doubt your mother is going to get rid of the hangover for another month and I need time to suppress that image of her making out…"

Rose chuckled and kissed him goodnight. "Next date is all you, Doctor."

He smiled and began contemplating their next adventure, as well as the words of a wise dry cleaner named Thomas…


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter nine: Full circle**_

Rose was in the middle of a lovely dream when she felt something fall on top of her. She sat up with a start, holding up the Doctor's coat in awe. His psychic paper dropped into her lap, and she looked next to her to find that yet again he wasn't in bed. He hadn't been staying in bed as much lately, and it did worry her that something was going on. She was about to call for him when she heard a certain Arabian. "Al," she grumbled as she found the teeth marks on the Doctor's coat. "Look what you did by bringing me this. The Doctor loves this coat."

Aladdin bobbed his head and nudged her hand, which held the psychic paper. Taking the hint, she opened it and a message appeared. _Get ready for our next date and meet me in the console room. X _

She grinned and excitedly got out of the bed, darting towards the loo. The horse tried to follow her, but she managed to shut the door. After getting prepared, she practically danced into the console room. It had been months since a proper date, thanks to a few sticky weeks on a strange planet and a broken TARDIS. He got everything running again, and apparently he had thought of a new adventure.

"I see you got the message," he smiled brightly.

"I did. Did you train Aladdin to do that? Bring the coat?"

He winked. "Maybe…"

"Well, he tried to get in the bath with me. You'd better watch him. He _is_ very charming, and girls love horses…" she teased as she flopped onto the seat. "Where are we going?"

"Many, many places. We have a packed schedule."

"Are you going to tell me or is this a secret?"

"Well, I could tell you everything…but where's the fun in that?" he pulled on the lever and the entire TARDIS rumbled. Once they got there, he grabbed her hand and pushed her to the door. "Now, close your eyes. No peeking, Rose Tyler."

She giggled and snapped them shut. "All right. They're closed. Don't let me fall over."

Carefully, he led her outside and shut the door behind him. He leaned in. "Open."

Looking around, she could swear that it was familiar. "I've been here before," she stated as she walked into the cobbled street. "But where is it?"

"1953. Muswell Hill, London."

"We came here when we were trying to see Elvis," she laughed. "You said it was New York."

"It could be…" he defended. "Just look at that building. It's very…American."

"Yeah right. Wouldn't we be here right now?" she frowned, remembering the last time she caused a paradox.

He shook his head. "This is months after we were here."

"I lost my face," she scowled. "Not the best memory."

"_After_ you got it back," he began as he took her hand. "We ate, drank, and were very merry. I couldn't take my eyes off you."

"Because you were making sure my face was still there," she reminded him playfully. "That's what you told me when I caught you gawking like a teenager."

The Doctor grinned shyly. "Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was an excuse to stare. I remember thinking how lovely you looked in that outfit. Just so happens that today is the first day of autumn, and they're having a small celebration. Thought we'd crash it."

"What if someone remembers us?"

"We say hello," he smiled breezily. "C'mon. Off we go."

They went to the end of a street where tables were set up an old music was playing. He spun her around and forced her into a dance. She laughed and went along with it. No one seemed to remember them, but they fit right in and enjoyed some seasonal dishes. She wanted to stay for another dance, but he pulled her away.

"We aren't staying?" she asked confusedly. "I thought we were on a date."

"We still are. This isn't our only stop. We're on tour, remember?"

"Like a rock band?"

"Oh yes. _Tyler on the TARDIS_ is coming to a planet near you."

She died with chortles as they got back inside and he hit a few controls. Once they stopped, she ran out of the door and understood what the Doctor was up to. "We're in Scotland. You're taking me back to places we've been to, aren't you? Doctor?"

He arrived on Aladdin with a smile. "Welcome to 1878, one year before we're officially banned. Hop on. We're going for a ride."

"Och, ay! Goin' oot and aboot on a wee horsey!"

"Don't. Really don't."

They laughed as they rode through the hills. She clung to his waist, proclaiming, "Go faster, Sir Doctor of TARDIS!"

"Ay, Dame Rose of the Powell Estate!"  
He made Aladdin go even faster and she let the wind rush through her hair. They rode for a while longer until the Doctor turned back around and stopped suddenly near the TARDIS. She had to cling to his back to keep from falling off, and he cackled at the look on her face as he leapt down.

"Are you not amused?" he questioned as he offered her a hand.

She smiled. "You never did pay me that ten quid, you know."

"Really?" he said mischievously. "Wonder how I forgot that…"

Her lips went to his ear and he shivered. "You can pay me back later."

They led Aladdin back to his stable and he went to the console. She was getting excited, wondering where they'd end up next. Once they landed, he caught her by the hand before she could rush outside. "Close your eyes again. No more running out before me," he stated as she attempted to escape. "I'll tie my tie around your eyes if you don't!"

"You will not," she challenged, squealing as he held her firmly in one arm and slipped his tie off with the other. It went around her eyes and she laughed. "Doctor!"

"Nope," he responded, holding her hands so she couldn't undo it. "You're ruining the element of surprise."

They awkwardly made their way outside and he let her go. She tugged the tie down frantically and a hand went to her mouth. "New Earth?"

"Precisely. And this time," he produced a blanket from his pocket. "We have an actual blanket."

He set it out and they sprawled in the apple grass, watching the flying cars. She looked over at him with a smirk. "New new Doctor."

"And New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York."

"How many _News _did you just use?"

"Sixteen," he replied cheerfully. "This is the fifteenth New York. Tenth Doctor."

She took his hand and indolently watched the sky. He studied her face and she glanced over. "You're staring at me."

"I am," he admitted gleefully. "Rose, what did you think of me? Well, this me when I showed up."

"Honestly?"

"Yep."

"I thought you were unbelievably attractive and much funnier. Not that you weren't attractive or funny before. Just a different kind."

That made him beam. "You know, you're the reason I talk like this."

She raised an eyebrow. "I am?"

"Absolutely. Your imprint on me. Well, one of the many. You make me better."

They kissed and he let it get almost to the point of shagging in the open before dramatically getting up and offering a hand. She scowled. "You just have to tease me."

"Full schedule. We're nowhere near done yet," he helped her up and collected the blanket, briskly kissing her cheek. "We'll pick up where we left off. I promise you that."

"You better."

After piling into the TARDIS, he set another course and looked at her intently. "Don't run out of the door on this one. This isn't a full stop."

"No?" she frowned. "What is it?"

He nodded. "Go look."

Her hands opened the doors and she remembered perfectly. "The end of the world."

"Yep. The year 5,000,000,000 or 5.5/Apple/26. Our first date."

She watched the Sun expand and softly smiled. "I was so freaked out that first time. Are we there on the space station?"

"Yeah, but we're on the other side of the Sun. This us is drifting. That us doesn't know we're here."

"You took my hand. You remember that?" she wondered, hoping it wasn't just her that saved those little memories.

He took her hand again and grinned. "I don't forget anything."

They watched the Sun expand for some time until Rose shut the doors and kissed him. "Where to next, Doctor?"

"You'll see."

Moments later, she stepped out of the TARDIS and opened her eyes. "London, present day," she said as she read a newspaper. "Why are we here?"

Her car revved behind her and she gladly hopped inside. They drove in the traffic down a very familiar street. She pointed with laughter. "That's where we got chips."

"Yes," he confirmed. "That's the shop right there. And I have money this time."

They parked and went inside, ordering some chips with lunch. She eyed him carefully. "Where'd you get money?"

"I have my ways," he assured her vaguely. "Great chips, huh?"

"Right. Change the subject. I'm still suspicious. I'll get it out of you."

They finished their chips and got back into the car. He drove down another familiar street, and she started to understand the Time Lord's logic. She stepped onto the sidewalk and gazed at the sign with wide eyes. "Henrik's. You've taken me back to places we've been to in reverse order. This is where we met. Where my life changed forever."

He put his arm around her. "Where our lives changed forever."

"Looks the same, even after they rebuilt it…" she chuckled. "You blew it up."

"That I did. I did that a lot back then. Blow things up."

"It's practically how you communicated. We did blow up that school, though."

The Doctor nodded. "Well, I still blow things up. It's a good time."

She chuckled and hugged his arm. "Can we go for a drive out of the city in my car?"

"We do have time for that," he agreed, opening the driver's door for her. "Your turn."

They drove around for a few hours with the radio blasting. He did some embarrassing singing and she danced at the wheel. She couldn't stop smiling. It had been a perfect date as far as she was concerned. No drunk mothers, big spiders, being chased out of planetariums, arguing over duvets, falling off horses, getting shot at by Americans, fighting over blue food in a hotel, or getting hit on by random blokes. No, this time was free from all problems. He was so thoughtful and obviously planned every detail. Upon reaching the TARDIS, she grabbed him and kissed him fiercely, dragging him towards the bedroom to pick up where they left off. He stopped her.

"We're not done."

She blinked. "We're not?"

"No. One more stop."

"Where else could we go? I thought that we were stopping at where we met."

He grinned. "You were _wrong_. I can actually say that for once. You were completely _wrong_, Rose Tyler."

"I get the point," she groaned. "Don't get used to saying that."

Landing, he slipped a chain around her neck with a strange pendant. She looked at it curiously and he didn't explain. Instead, he tied his tie around her eyes and led her by the hand outside of the TARDIS. They walked for what felt like a long time before she heard him whispering. "You're wearing a perception filter. No one else will notice us if you walk slowly and keep your voice down."

"Why do I need that?" she inquired.

"You'll see in a few minutes."

He removed the blindfold and she took in her surroundings. "I don't remember this place."

"You shouldn't," he responded simply as he positioned her on the city sidewalk. "You see that bench?"

She spotted the bench in front of a park only a few feet away. It appeared to be London, and she thought that maybe she'd seen the park in passing. "I see it. Where are we?"

"London."

"When?"

"Just wait."

"Doctor," she mumbled impatiently. "I want to know."

He wouldn't tell her anything else. Suddenly, a couple wandered over to the bench and sat down. The Doctor calmly walked closer, pushing Rose into a better position. She gasped and tugged on his sleeve. "That's my mum and dad. They're so young. What is this? Late nineteen seventies?"

"Early eighties. Can't you tell by Jackie's hair?"

"And they can't see us?" she questioned.

"Nope. No idea we're here. Shush and listen."

"So," Pete said as he fidgeted with hands. "Nice night."

"Lovely," Jackie agreed.

"I've had a wonderful time," Pete continued. "I always do with you, Jacks."

She giggled and blushed. "I do too, Pete."

"I've been thinking…"

"Not another one of your schemes," she groaned. "You and your big ideas."

He chuckled. "Not that. No. This is different. I just have been thinking about us. You know. Our future. And I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd…" he paused and tugged on his collar. "I'd like to marry you."

Jackie's eyes grew a size bigger and Rose clutched the Doctor's hand. "What did you just say?" Jackie repeated. "Did you just ask me what I think you did?"

"Yeah. I did. Come on, Jacks. We're great together. I love you, you love me. Why don't we make a go of it? I even have a ring if you want it," he held out the ring, which wasn't overly impressive. "Not sure if it's the right size or anything. But I figured I can always get you a real one when the money comes in."

"Some proposal this is," Jackie snorted. "But I don't care about that. Yes, Pete. I'd love to marry you."

He tried to put the ring on her finger, but it was much too small. She moved it to her pinky and kissed him happily, swatting him the second they pulled apart. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"No more sleeping around, you got that? I know about you and that girl at the shop. You're marrying me, so you're stuck with just me. And this was your idea. Don't you dare blame me if marriage isn't what you thought it'd be!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, Jackie. I've done everything I can."

"_Done_ everything you can? Is that some kind of sex joke?"

"It is not! I'm really trying here. I told you that I love you and want to marry you, what else do you want?"

"I don't know, how about loyalty?"

"Well, you've got it! I had pawn my watch for that ring."

She made a sound in surprise. "You didn't."

He held up his bare wrist. "I did."

"Oh, Pete. You're the best man I could have asked for."

They resumed snogging and Rose turned to the Doctor with tears in her eyes. "That's so Mum and Dad."

He took her hand. "C'mon. Let's give the kids their privacy."

Rose cast one more glance at the happy couple and squeezed the Doctor's fingers tightly. It wasn't a perfect date before. No, _now_ it was a perfect date. They got into the TARDIS and took the chains from around their necks. She kissed his face and held onto his waist.

"How did you know?" she whispered. "That was incredible."

The Doctor pulled back with a wide grin. "Do you know why I've gone missing every night for months?"

"No…" she trailed off unsurely. "Why?"

"I had to get things in order. My ducks in a row, as they say."

Her brow furrowed. "You're not making sense."

"Well, not yet I'm not!" he exclaimed. "Now, let me see…"

"What are you looking for?" she wondered as he went through his pockets.

"Just something I picked up the other day…and…here it is!" he hid it in his palm and turned to her slyly. "Today things come full circle."

She paused. "Okay…?"

"Ninth date," he reminded her. "We met when I was in my ninth incarnation."

"Right," she nodded, trying to seem like she was following.

"So it only makes sense."

"What does?"

"New beginnings. New life back then. New life today. New New Doctor. New Earth. New New New—"

"New York," she cut him off.

He grinned. "Right you are."

"So that means…what exactly?"

"Well, I've been thinking. Plotting, really. Trying to figure out where would be the right place. Then, I thought, _Why not the TARDIS_? It seems like the right place. But I couldn't just do it. No, that wouldn't qualify as the ninth date, which we've established as being very important. _Full circle_. So, I figured that we'd relive the journey that got us to this point. Now, the reason I've shown you this moment in your mother's history isn't to relive our past. Oh no. It's a new memory in the _new_ beginning. You see?"

She held her forehead. "I think I followed most of that."

"Brilliant! I have a serious question for you."

"All right."

He held out a stunning ring and smiled like a daft school boy. "Rose Tyler, why don't we make a go of it?"

Rose was speechless. It took a second to register that he really was asking her to marry him. Once the shock wore off, she managed to answer. "Yes."

His grin widened and he slid the ring onto her finger. They kissed for a long time until she hugged him close, crying the happiest of tears into his shoulder. "You're the most _fantastic_ man in the universe, Doctor. How long have you planned this?"

"Well, I suppose I've wanted to ask you since our second date at the amusement park. The psychic paper gave that away," he chuckled slightly. "However, I started putting all this together after our double date with your mother. Thomas made some valid points and a very logical argument. I figured no time like the present. So, while you were sleeping, I traveled around to pick the right places at the right time. We couldn't go somewhere when it was raining or invaded by unfriendly aliens, could we? That would ruin the date. It had to be just right. After I had that course prepared, I stopped by your mother's to ask for some money to buy chips and for information about Pete's proposal. That Jackie. Bless. She kept a diary and wrote down every detail of that night, right down to the exact time they arrived in the park. That made things very simple indeed! Of course, I had to get the perception filters completed and the ring next. I decided to go back to the market we went to on one of our dates. That's where I found the ring. We can't go shopping there again, by the way. Sorry. Spent the last of my money. Anyway, that's what I've been doing all this time. Oh, and I did ask Jackie permission before I asked you and she's very happy for us."

"All that for me?" she whispered in astonishment. "You did all that for me?"

"Don't act so surprised. I can be quite sweet, especially when it comes to you."

"I love you," she laughed as she took his hand and pulled him towards their room. "Don't you dare stop me this time, Doctor. We have unfinished business."

They finally got to finish what they had started and rested in a tangle of limbs and sheets. He had his arms around her and hadn't stopped smiling. "Rose, you know what?"

"What?" she yawned into his neck tiredly.

"The next date we have to worry about is the wedding date. How about that? Us. Wedding. I'm rubbish at them. Complete rubbish. You'll have to do all of the planning. I think it's best if I just show up looking handsome in a new suit. That much I can handle."

"I like the sound of that. Let's figure all that out in the morning…" she moved closer to him and grinned to herself. "Doctor, today has been perfect. But…could you do just one more thing for me?"

"Anything you'd like."

"Can you sing me to sleep? I think you know which song I'd like to hear."

He smiled. "You can shake an apple off an apple tree. Shake-a, shake- sugar, but you'll never shake me. Uh-uh-uh. No-sir-ee, uh, uh. I'm gonna stick like glue, stick because I'm…" he paused to kiss his future wife's forehead. "Stuck on you."

_**End.**_

_A/N: Thank you so much for your kind reviews, favs, and follows. It means a lot. I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'd also like to mention OTHCharmfan for reviewing and reading this story since the beginning. Thank you so much for the feedback. Disclaimer: lyrics used belong to respective artists. I own nothing, other than a few characters of my own creation. _


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